Ankerwycke Yew
51°26′41″N 0°33′23″W / 51.44475°N 0.55651°W
The Ankerwycke Yew is an ancient yew tree close to the ruins of St Mary's Priory, the site of a Benedictine nunnery built in the 12th century, near Wraysbury in Berkshire, England. It is a male tree with a girth of 8 metres (26 ft) at 0.3 metres.[1] The tree is at least 1,400 years old,[2] and could be as old as 2,500 years.[3]
On the opposite bank of the River Thames are the meadows of Runnymede and this tree is said to have been witness to the signing of Magna Carta. It is also said to be the location where Henry VIII met Anne Boleyn in the 1530s.[4]
"Here the confederate Barons met King John, and having forced him to yield to the demands of his subjects they, under the pretext of securing the person of the King from the fury of the multitude, conveyed him to a small island belonging to the nuns of Ankerwyke [the island], where he signed the Magna Carta," wrote J.J. Sheahen in 1822.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Ancient Tree Hunt". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ^ Bevan-Jones, Robert (2004). The ancient yew: a history of Taxus baccata. Bollington: Windgather Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-9545575-3-0.
- ^ "Ankerwycke". National Trust. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ "Ankerwycke". National Trust. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ "Magna Carta and the Ankerwycke Yew". wraysbury.net. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
External links
- Magna Carta and the Ankerwycke Yew
- Photos of a trek to the Ankerwyke Yew
- Ancient yews under threat in Churchyards and sacred groves
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