Tree believed to be 2,000 years old set for pruning

An ancient yew tree, believed to be up to 2,000 years old, is set to be "sensitively pruned" to stop it from deteriorating.

The Darley Dale Yew, near the main entrance to the town's St Helen's Church, is believed to be older than the house of worship itself, according to Derbyshire Dales District Council.

The authority said during a recent inspection, some of its trees officers identified "several recently opened cracks", which suggested movement in the northern stem of the tree.

After getting additional reports from independent tree specialists, the council is set to reduce the upper reaches of the yew's branches and a section of its lower crown lateral branches over the next week.

The reports recommended reducing the length of "relatively young branches" to lower "end weight and wind loading" to the northern stem, the council said.

These branches, growing from the top of the northern stem, show "evidence of having been reduced in height many years earlier".

The movement of the northern stem led the council, which manages the closed churchyard, to fence off the footpath beside the tree.

A lighter pruning of the southern stem was also recommended to manage its canopy size.

This aims to prevent "potential structural damage" to the southern stem, because it was found to have only a "very thin remaining thickness of sound undecayed wood", which would likely compromise its strength.

According to the Woodland Trust, native common yews have the ability to live "the longest of all the UK's native tree species".

The species are "a familiar sight" in churchyards, and "may be able to live for 3,000 years, although 1,500 may be more typical".

The Woodland Trust considers yews as chronologically ancient from 900 years and upward.

The Darley Dale Yew, which has a girth of about 10 metres (33 feet), is recorded in the Trust's Ancient Tree Inventory, and is listed as a tree of historical significance nationally.

It is also protected by a Tree Preservation Order administered by Derbyshire County Council, which granted permission for the pruning.

A spokesperson for the district council said: "We are acutely aware of the historical, landscape and amenity value of this ancient yew, and these considerations have informed our prudent and sensitive tree management works recommended by independent arboriculture specialists.

"It is important that these pruning works proceed promptly with the aim of preventing otherwise likely catastrophic structural failure of the northern stem in particular."

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