DOVER — To the east of Christ Church, just behind the chancel area, lies a yew tree believed to be nearly 300 years old.
It is estimated to have been planted on the South State Street grounds around the same time the church was built, in 1734, and was most likely imported from England, according to the congregation’s History and Research Committee.
The fifth edition of “Big Trees of Delaware” notes that the specimen is 54 feet tall with a 67-foot crown.
Trees in the United States are determined to be large via a point system, which grades them on circumference (in inches), height (in feet) and one-quarter of the average crown spread (in feet).
This math means Christ Church’s yew tree garners 235 points, making it the second largest of that species in the country.
The biggest is in the Laurel Hill West cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Yew trees have much religious significance, church officials say. They are revered for their longevity and resilience, though they are also poisonous — therefore, representing both life and death.
Wood from such trees was used for early weapons of war, like longbows, in northern Europe. This use began to deplete the yews’ population by the 17th century, so guns started to replace them.
Ellen Richardson, a member of the History and Research Committee and the Friends of Old Dover, said the church’s yew tree establishes the building’s identity.
“It’s just a symbol of the longevity of this church in the area,” she explained. “It was planted about the same time this building was planted. We all grew up together.”
Because it is a symbol of both life and death, Ms. Richardson added that it represents human existence, perhaps more than any other tree.
Further, it’s integral to the history of the capital city, as “it was planted when Dover was a very young town,” she said.
The nearly 300-year-old plant joins one of the very first graves in Christ Church’s cemetery — a 1749 plot for Colonial sea captain William Phillips.
“It just shows you Dover is a Revolutionary War town, and it goes back even earlier than the war,” Ms. Richardson noted.
And, because yew trees can live up to 600 years, this one could be around for centuries to come.
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