Farnham is a Surrey market town, and its tree grows out of the ruins of Waverley Abbey on its edge, England's first Cistercian house, founded in 1128 and dissolved in 1536. The Waverley Abbey Yew took root sometime after, so five hundred years is the outer edge of its age rather than a floor. It is multi-stemmed, 6.78 metres round, spreading over the broken stonework, and in 2022 it won the Woodland Trust's UK Tree of the Year.
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Waverley Abbey Yew
European Yew (Taxus baccata) · up to 500 years · Waverley Abbey
This yew grows out of the ruins of a medieval Cistercian abbey, and its roots arch above the ground before diving back in among the monks' old foundations. Waverley Abbey was founded in 1128 and dissolved in 1536. The yew came after.
How long after is the honest question. The European Tree of the Year entry calls it roughly 500 years old, but most accounts have it taking root once the abbey was abandoned, which makes five centuries the outer edge of what anyone can support rather than a floor. It may be younger than it looks. A multi-stemmed yew with a girth of 6.78 metres, spreading over broken stonework, looks older than almost anything.
What it has seen is the long second life of a ruin, the abbey reduced to stonework while the yew spread across it. The trunk now carries holes and decay, and those make it a home for wildlife.
In 2022 it won the Woodland Trust's UK Tree of the Year, and in 2023 it went on to the European contest, placing seventh with 9,413 votes. English Heritage looks after the site and lets anyone in during daylight without a ticket. The walk from the car park crosses a field with a kissing gate and, often, cattle.
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