Welsh Journals

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YEW TREES IN THE CHURCHYARDS. By Rev. D. Stedman DAVIES, M.A. The question of ownership of the ancient churchyards under the Welsh Church Act seems now to be settled. One would like to see the churchyard being kept as a garden of the departed," and this could be done if all joined together to carry on the work. Far more interest in these days is being taken in attending to individual graves, and this could be developed into making God's Acre a delight to the eye and a better memorial to the departed, than too many elaborate monuments These ancient churchyards-for most of them are older than the actual church building which they surround-are not only full of interest, but provide the passer-by with many subjects of historical value and of the customs of our forefathers now almost forgotten. For instance, the circular yard takes our thoughts back to pre-Christian days. The tombs and headstones of the last three centuries not only mark the graves, but they display the changing thoughts of the people as each generation passed by. Also, the trees which adorn nearly every churchyard deserve our attention, especially the yew trees, which are the subject of this paper. The yew tree lives longer than any other tree in this country. The one at Braburn in Kent is considered to be 3,000 years old. There are three at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, under which, we are told, the founders of the Abbey held their Council in the* year 1132 and that at Aukerwyke House, near Staines, was noted when Magna Charta was signed in 1215. It is so seldom a yew tree is cut down and the opportunity to count its thin yearly lines of growth given, that it is difficult to tell its exact age but many have stood for more than a thousand years, and were growing when the Normans invaded the country.