| Survey data | |
|---|---|
| Surveyed by: Steve Heath | Surveyed on: 16th July 2012 |
| Number of trees: 1 | |
| Girth: 9.6m (measured at 1.5m) | |
| Tree form: Maiden | |
| Dead or alive: Alive | |
| Standing/fallen: Leaning | |
| Access: Public - open access (e.g. public park, churchyard, etc) | |
This tree's story
The Yew at Loose parish church is very well known in the area. It was surveyed in 1995 as part of the Ancient Tree Hunt. It is a huge, very old Yew, with a single, hollow trunk and is surrounded by railings. A small stream flows beneath it.
Growing on the tree
- Vine/creeper
Signs of animal life
- Bat roost or potential bat roost
Additional comments
Mr Roy Wood, the old woodsman of Church House has looked after trees in the churchyard for the past 60 years and said:
1. The name Loose, originally spelt Looze, is an Anglo Saxon word meaning pig-pen. In those long times ago, a wooden fence would have been built around thee Yew to provide a safe, dry place as shelter for the pigs after they were driven down into the valley after a day’s foraging up on the hills.
2. Before the great storm of 1968 the girth of the Yew had been measured at thirty six and a half feet. The storm wore off one of the main branches causing the trunk to split, thus reducing the tree’s height and girth by some six inches. The Yew is squat and appears to be very much greater in girth than height anyway. According to Mr Wood, this is a common occurence in trees of any great age.
3. Some 20 years ago, David Bellamy examined the Yew and estimated it to be 5 to 6 thousand years old. However, after the local council decided to build a toilet at the side of the church and a trench was dug around the tree for the necessary water pipes to be laid, it was discovered that the roots exposed were found to be a further 2 thousand years old, making the Yew nearly 8 thousand years old. It was at this time that the ancient Yew was positioned on its own little mound and surrounded by a stout iron railing for protection.
4. Mr Wood also informed me that Loose, situated in a valley, is blest with plentiful supply of water, hence the great number of trees in and around the village. He also said that Yew trees were considered to have magical properties by the druids so that the site where the old Yew tree is situated would have had pagan religious significance, thus explaining the choice of site for a Chritian church’..