"In the churchyard of this village," writes Gilbert White in "The
Antiquities of Selborne," "is a yew-tree whose aspect bespeaks it to be
of great age; it seems to have seen several centuries and is probably
co-eval with the church, and therefore may be deemed an antiquity; the
body is squat, short and thick, and measures twenty-three feet in the
girth, supporting a head of suitable extent to its bulk. This is a male
tree, which in the spring sheds clouds of dust and fills the atmosphere
around with its farina.... Antiquaries seem much at a loss to determine
at what period this tree first obtained a place in churchyards. A
statute was passed A.D. 1307 and 35 Edward I., the title of which is
"Ne rector arbores in cemeterio prosternat." Now if it is recollected
that we seldom see any other very large or ancient tree in a churchyard
but yews, this statute must have principally related to this species of
tree; and consequently their being planted in churchyards is of much
more ancient date than the year 1307. As to the use of these trees,
possibly the more respectable parishioners were buried under their
shade before the improper custom was introduced of burying within the
body of the church where the living are to assemble.
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