Pyrography, scorching and oil painting of The Ankerwycke Yew on natural edged sycamore wood embellished with gold leaf.

Yews are protectors of cemeteries across Britain, gateways between heaven and earth. Near the ruins of St. Mary’s Priory, Berkshire, stands the Ankerwycke Yew. 26ft in diameter and fractured in half over some 2000 years, it’s limb-like structure supports crooked melting knots beneath dense overgrowth. In the shadows of gnarly branches legend says this notable yew witnessed the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, and the meeting of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.