This tree is 1,600 years old

This Yew tree is in the churchyard of the 12th century village church in Wilmington. Tests have shown it to be 1,600 years old.I saw the framed certificate in the church. It was 800 years old when the ancient little church was built. When it was a seedling, in about 400 a.d., the Romans were still in Britain.

Added Note: Yew trees grow in nearly every old churchyard in the UK. There is some Christian association between the Yew and resurrection. I think Christians just repackaged an earlier pagan belief, and re-packaged it. It could well be that this was a holy spot well before the church was built. We saw an old church last autumn that actually had an early burial mound right next to the church. That was just a few miles from here.