Many of our ancient yews are directly connected with our historical and cultural heritage like the Sussex Crowhurst Yew, our cover photo, which witnessed the Battle of Hastings. Another witness to one of our most important historic events, this time the Magna Carta, is the Ankerwycke Yew on the banks of the River Thames, opposite Runnymede! No one knows exactly how old this enormous male tree is but it is generally believed by many authorities to be more than 2,000 years old, making it of pre Christian origin. Some 30 years ago it was proved beyond reasonable doubt, that the tree was the place where the oath swearing and agreement to the Magna Carta took place.

The Ankerwycke Yew however, has been a tree of immense historical importance for many centuries. Originally it may have been an Axis Mundi, the sacred central focus of ancient tribes of the area. The Ankerwycke Yew is in the centre of what was old Saxon territory and the Council of the Anglo Saxon Kings of the 7th to 11th centuries was held from time to time at Runnymede, in the open air, particularly during the reign of Alfred the Great. Inaugurations of early Saxon Kings are likely to have happened at the Yew as it was believed that the sacred tree, connected the king or tribal leader with the heavens, and made the hierophany of sovereignty possible. By the time of King John and the barons and the sealing of the Magna Carta, the tradition of solemn matters of state taking place at this Yew were still understood and it would have been for this reason just as much as the fact that the island in the Thames offered protection to all parties, that the site was chosen.

But the Yew may have had an awesome origin as an Egyptian planting, as ancient yews planted on low ground in Britain are rare but the Egyptians honoured rivers especially important ones like the Nile and the Thames. There is plenty of evidence of the Egyptians having been in Britain, as in the place names around and Ankerwycke could well refer to a branch of the Tree of Life, as that is what the Egyptian symbol of the Ankh (a cross with a loop on top) symbolised.

You can read more in ‘The God Tree’ by Janis Fry, published by Capall Bann.

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