Here we are back at the Yew tree at Runnymede, sometimes known as the Ankerwycke Yew! Since this is the 3rd time this tree has been featured I thought I'd show it in one of my paintings, to avoid overload!

The reason I'm featuring this ancient yew, site of the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John and the Barons again, is that I've only recently discovered that this yew is actually the only tree (not just yew tree!) ever to be designated a Scheduled Monument in the National Trust Heritage Records! The point is of course, that if one ancient yew can become a Scheduled Monument, then surely this opens the door for the other 2,000 year old ancient yews (now totalling 174 in Britain) which should also be entitled to the same degree of protection as all other Scheduled Monuments, with a penalty for damaging them, of 2 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Surely these ancient living monuments, our most important heritage trees, are just as important, if not more so, as our Scheduled Monument buildings?

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