Ifs millénaires de La Lande-Patry

La Lande-Patry

In front of the porch of the church of La Lande-Patry stand two yews so venerable that the village has made them its emblem, one of them even appearing on its coat of arms beside a castle. Local legend tells that it was Guillaume Patry, lord of the place, who planted these two trees before leaving to fight in the Holy Land on the Eighth Crusade, in the 13th century, as a vow of return or a pact with time. Other, older traditions trace their origin back to the early Middle Ages, between the 6th and the 9th century, which would make them direct witnesses of the Christianisation of Normandy. The female yew, entirely hollowed out by the centuries, offers an impressive cavity in which one can almost stand upright, while its companion has kept a denser trunk. A barber is said to have set up there every Sunday from 1820, and two wigmakers to have followed him until about 1880. Associated in local memory with Saint Armel and Saint Margaret, the two trees continue to watch over the church porch as they have done for generations. Registered in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage (inventory sheet of August 2009), they are a reminder that in the Norman countryside the lifespan of a yew could be measured, it is said, in dynasties rather than in years.

Getting there : In the centre of the village of La Lande-Patry, near Flers, right in front of the doorway of the parish church

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound