Showing posts with label Yew Trees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yew Trees. Show all posts

Monday, 21 September 2020

Living History: The Starcross Yew Trees.

The topiaried Yew Trees of Starcross are all gone. Some were in the grounds of the Royal Western Counties Hospital. The hospital was demolished in 1986.


The most well known Yew trees were the row along The Strand. They were all a uniform size; around 20 foot high. Their trunks were bare up to head height, and their tops were shaped into cones.




Starcross History Society is working with the Starcross Action for Trees SAFT group to reincarnate 2 or 3 of these conical Yew trees which were along The Strand. The Yew trees can't be planted in their original sites, because they would obstruct the views from the cottages in The Strand, but a site has been identified  further along The Strand; on land which belongs to Teignbridge.

English Yew trees are slow growing and not readily available, but The Woodland Trust will allow the Starcross Action for Trees group to reserve the Yew trees when some become available. 

When the Yew trees eventually arrive in Starcross, they will be looked after and grown on at Easter Hill Nursery, by Jane and Paul Guppy. Local arborist Steve Swift   will be on hand when the time comes to plant them in their permanent sites, and to encourage them to grow into  the iconic cone shape. Here's a picture from Steve's website.








Sunday, 10 June 2018

More information about the old Starcross yew trees please

Tim Hills from the Ancient Yew Group offers to publish a piece, if we'll submit one, about the conical Yew trees in the village. If anyone has any information about them please get in contact with Starcross History: you can comment below please or email starcross.history@gmail.com
Tim has kindly sent links, from the Ancient Yew Group's website, which show yew topiary at Levens Hall, Melcombe Bingham, Brampton Bryan and Holme Lacy House.

The well-shod people of Victorian Starcross

©https://www.ancient-yew.org/treeInfo.php?link=4516
©https://www.ancient-yew.org/treeInfo.php?link=3041
©https://www.ancient-yew.org/treeInfo.php?link=2998
©https://www.ancient-yew.org/treeInfo.php?link=2897

Conical Yew Trees

Many thanks to Gordon White for the links to these photos of Starcross's topiary-ed yews
They are here posted so that thy can be scrolled down at the Westbank Memory Café; which meets every Tuesday morning in the Westbank Charity Shop
Could one or two of these yew trees make a reappearance one day? Maybe not to block the views from the cottages in The Strand, but perhaps there could be a place on the grassed area, near to the thatched shelter?
The Ancient Yew Group is interested in the sites of significant yews, but doesn't yet mention this amazing piece of yew history on its website. The group is interested in yews that are " Ancient, Veteran or Notable". Surely the Starcross Yews were notable?


Monday, 18 September 2017

Photograph of the Royal Western Counties Hospital with a topiary swan


What a great photo.
  • Is that a swan hedge in the background?
  • Does anyone know anything about this photo please? 
  • Who did that topiary? 
  • What year was this taken? 
  • Who took this photo?




 Topiary in Starcross
Starcross once had some more topiary - there was a row of conical Yew trees along The Strand. see bottom right picture on this postcard

Greetings from Starcross. potcard. 5 views





 
and here's another view of them; with people in Victorian clothing.



and here's 3 Francis Frith postcards which also show the Yew trees along The Strand







and here's one of the row of conical yew trees by the Starcross siding




Friday, 27 March 2015

Greetings from Starcross

Thankyou again Steve Nosworthy for these shots of The Atmospheric Railway Hotel, the front street with the topiaried Yew trees, New Road with a shop opposite the Assembly Rooms?? a shrubbery in front of the hospital?? and a market??
Please can anyone correct or add to these descriptions?