Watermillock

June 2016 – Toby Hindson: The most obvious of the three yews at this site is this male tree growing south of the church. It has always been considered to be the largest of the trio, but this is not so. It was first measured by Graham Wilkinson in 1997, recording a girth of 442cm (14′ 6”) at the base. In nineteen years it has increased by just 8cm to 450 when measured at the same place. The bole is 90cm high with one major upright offset from centre on the church side of the tree. The remainder of the canopy consists of more horizontal branches and some dead vertical material. The tree is located on a mound on an old boundary ridge with a new path below it. Wilkinson described it in 1997 as ‘a splendid, gnarled tree, but no hollowing’. He also noted a 1745 slab about 4′ away from the tree.