I didn't measure this tree when I visited it, hence the guess of 10 hugs, although I suspect it more than this.
Tim Hills from the Ancient Yew Group recorded it on 7th April 1998 with a girth of 10m36cm.
This tree was first noted in 1994 by Allen Meredith
Source ATH website:
At possibly over 4,000 years old, the tree found in the grounds of St Dygain’s Church in Llangernyw, in the County Borough of Conwy, is one of the oldest living things in Wales.
This means that the tree, a male Yew, would have been planted in the prehistoric Bronze Age! In June 2002 the Tree Council, whilst commemorating the golden jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, designated the Llangernyw Yew tree as one of fifty Great British trees in recognition of its place in national heritage.
Until very recently, an oil tank stood in the space created by the fragments – exactly where the original tree once grew. Happily, the significance of the tree was realised and the tank was moved elsewhere. One of the fragmented stems has slowly collapsed onto a nearby gravestone. An elderly lady was upset that she is now unable to sit by a family grave to pray and it was agreed to remove the limb - one of four remaining fragments. However, The Conservation Foundation funded an arboricultural consultant to provide a report on the tree and the fragment. The lady was so taken aback by the report on this ancient tree that she has now agreed for the gravestone to be moved to another part of the churchyard so that the limb may rest on the ground and continue growing.
Added by RMcB Aug. 2013 from ATH website.
Visited this tree in March 2016 and two of the things that particularly struck me were: firstly how healthy it looks and secondly the absence of any ground protection or props to support any of the stems or branches given their size and the density of the canopy. But it appears that the tree is not suffering from the ground compaction caused by visitors and that it is structurally stronger than it looks.
I didn't measure this tree when I visited it, hence the guess of 10 hugs, although I suspect it more than this. Tim Hills from the Ancient Yew Group recorded it on 7th April 1998 with a girth of 10m36cm. This tree was first noted in 1994 by Allen Meredith
Source ATH website: At possibly over 4,000 years old, the tree found in the grounds of St Dygain’s Church in Llangernyw, in the County Borough of Conwy, is one of the oldest living things in Wales. This means that the tree, a male Yew, would have been planted in the prehistoric Bronze Age! In June 2002 the Tree Council, whilst commemorating the golden jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, designated the Llangernyw Yew tree as one of fifty Great British trees in recognition of its place in national heritage. Until very recently, an oil tank stood in the space created by the fragments – exactly where the original tree once grew. Happily, the significance of the tree was realised and the tank was moved elsewhere. One of the fragmented stems has slowly collapsed onto a nearby gravestone. An elderly lady was upset that she is now unable to sit by a family grave to pray and it was agreed to remove the limb - one of four remaining fragments. However, The Conservation Foundation funded an arboricultural consultant to provide a report on the tree and the fragment. The lady was so taken aback by the report on this ancient tree that she has now agreed for the gravestone to be moved to another part of the churchyard so that the limb may rest on the ground and continue growing. Added by RMcB Aug. 2013 from ATH website.
Visited this tree in March 2016 and two of the things that particularly struck me were: firstly how healthy it looks and secondly the absence of any ground protection or props to support any of the stems or branches given their size and the density of the canopy. But it appears that the tree is not suffering from the ground compaction caused by visitors and that it is structurally stronger than it looks.