What may be one of the earliest plantings at Preston Hall is a male yew with noticeably flaky bark, standing in a shaded spot beside the children’s playground just outside the walled garden. Girth measurements were 330 cm @ 50 cm high, 315cm @ 100 and 324cm @ 150 cm (SYTHI 2022). Applying the rough girth to age formula (which is more reliable in yews less than 400 years old) the girth in cm taken at 150 cm high (breast height) equals the age in years, hence in this case it points to the yew being around 324 years old. If so, that would mean an origin circa 1700, when the first house was built here.
In huge contrast to the trunks of the yews described so far, there is a young layering yew which is of genuinely mesmerising morphology, visible from the road between the cattle grid and the house. Here we find a small yew with a wild and tangled growth habit of bizarre forms and consequently any girth measurements would not really be relevant in speculating an accurate age for it. Suffice to say the notable qualities of this juvenile yew lie in its fantastical beauty rather than its age, as the images show.
In a private area to the immediate east of Preston Hall itself is a quite stunning example of what resembles an exceptionally ancient and fragmented yew. As seen in the images, an example of an ancient, fragmented yew, thought to be 2,000 years old, can be seen in the extract from The Immortal Yew by Tony Hall (hardback, Kew, 2018) and the resemblance between it and the yew at Preston Hall is uncannily apparent.
However, this collection of 7 stems at Preston Hall, which despite all being female cannot be said without DNA testing to be one yew, is not an exceptionally ancient yew, quite the opposite in fact as it is a juvenile. But it shows how appearances can initially be quite deceptive and rather quicken the pulse. With a circumference of 785 cm at the base, this mound of yew growth is certainly startling in size and appearance and is a mighty presence indeed. That it probably began life as a close group of plantings is seen in many examples of such planting across the estate and as seen in the images. Of the girth measurements available to be taken @ 150 cm, these ranged from 120 cm, 126 cm, 182 cm and 240 cm across four examples (SYTHI2022) clearly showing no evidence for any stems pre-dating the year 1700.