Nature And Landscape

Restoring the Yew-nique Topiaries of Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue

Our vision is to protect and save a wonderful conservation site of local heritage trees for public benefit. Our project aims to restore Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue (CYTA) to the favourable state and condition it was in 2010. CYTA is a ‘yewnique’ collection of 137 yew trees, each more than 200 years old, set in a beautiful 2 hectare woodland and wildflower meadow. Each tree has been individually topiarised with distinct crown tops. Some of the trees have individual emblems and designs on their sides which depict important historical local, national and international events. From 2010 - 2018 these trees were not maintained. Since then, CYTAT has started to restore the shape and health of the trees, putting back some emblems and designs, while ensuring that the biodiversity of the wildflower rides is well managed. We need to continue these conservation works to retain the heritage of the site.