The lands of Arniston Estate were a royal hunting park at the time of the Knights Templar, who had established their first preceptory in the early 12th century at what is now the village of Temple only a few miles away. In 1571 the Dundas family bought the estate and in 1620 a house and walled garden were built. In the late 1600’s the estate was expanded and then in 1726 construction on the present house began but was not completed until 1753 due to financial difficulties and the death of the original architect William Adam.
The estate parkland features considerable yew planting in woodland areas, especially pockets of closely grouped yews, which are probably of late 18th century origin. However, at the boundary of more open parkland and near to the formal gardens, are yews with noticeably larger girth sizes, 365 cm @ 100 cm (SYTHI 2019) which suggest they may date to the early 17th century.
