Handcarved English Yew

The English yew (Taxus Baccata) has been native to the British Isles for 15 million years. The yew is an evergreen that seems to outwit the natural deterioration suffered by other trees. Utilising slow growth, self-induced decay and regeneration, the yew demonstrates mystic powers of immortality. Much like their writhing, twisting roots, trunks and branches, the yew is deeply entwined in our national folklore and cultural history.

The yew has long been deemed a sacred tree; their association with death and the afterlife is recorded in texts from both Greek mythology and Ancient Rome. In British folklore the yew retained its symbolic relation to mortality, and is a tree most often associated with English churchyards. In many cases the yew pre-dates the church it presides over, with some specimens well over 500 years old. The Llangernyw yew in Conwy is regarded as the oldest tree in Britain at around 4,500 years old - it may be as old as the pyramids of Giza. Yew trees were considered sacred to pagans and druids, and perhaps the early Christians were reluctant to entirely dismiss such spiritual beliefs - incorporating the yew into their holy sites, where perhaps it was seen as a symbol of eternal life and a protector of the dead.

Our own English yew ghosts were hand carved in a small batch of 20 limited edition and numbered ghosts by skilled woodworker Mr Gamble (10 available online 10 in our shop). The tree from which these ghosts were made was a naturally felled ancient yew from a country estate in North Yorkshire. Dendrochronology ( ring dating) ages the tree at about 170 years, which means it began its life under the reign of Queen Victoria. Our yew ghosts were carved from wood that began forming at the time that Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin were at their most productive and the great Pre-Raphaelite painters and poets were active.
We believe that English yew wood is the most appropriate for a York Ghost and perhaps some of the inscrutable qualities of the tree are preserved within the form of each hand carved ghost.

Batch of 20 - 11 online and 9 in the shop

Release date : 31/1/20