The ‘Great Yew’ dates from around 400AD making it one of the oldest trees in Britain. It is 1000 years older than the 15th Century church! It is 35ft (10.6m) high and the trunk is 27ft (8m) in girth. You can see evidence of previous work to protect it with stones, brick, cement and even chicken wire. The protective gated iron fence dates back to 1804. The Yew Taxus baccata is particularly associated with Christian churchyards because their evergreen leaves and remarkable powers of regeneration symbolise the resurrection, continuity of life and consistency in faith. As Yew trees made the best longbows many were felled in the Middle Ages but protests against using trees from consecrated ground to make weapons saved those in the churchyards.

It’s estimated that 50,000 people have been buried here since the Norman conquest and around 1100 gravestones remain. The earliest monument here dates back to 1669. Gravestone inscriptions can give us an insight into what life was like for people in the past. Many inscriptions have been lost due to weathering of the stone and ivy growth, but information on memorials is recorded in a book in the church to preserve it for future generations. In the north of the churchyard there has been some re-organisation with gravestones laid flat to form paths or edging. In the south, you can see groups of ‘chest tombs’ in-situ. A number of graves are enclosed by decorative iron railings.

All Saints churchyard is a haven for insects, butterflies,
bumblebees, and small mammals such as voles. The trees provide
cover, roosts and nesting places for birds. Jackdaws, Rooks, Great
Tits, Blue Tits, House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Robins and
Blackbirds can often be seen or heard in and around the churchyard.
How many of these can you spot today?

Look out for...

	Lichen - churchyards may contain over a 100 different species		WW1 war grave of Private Thomas Barton aged 181/2.
	An unusual gravestone inlaid with a blue monogram tile.		The WW1 Canadian war grave of W. Barratt, 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade.

All Saints Church, Gresford Management Plan - click here