The Ankerwycke Yew is, according to tradition, the tree beneath which King John signed the Magna Carta. It certainly could have been – it is old enough and in the right sort of place – but we may never know for sure. It’s a very impressive tree, in the grounds of the ruined Ankerwycke priory by the side of the Thames at Runnymede in Surrey.
My large (58 cm square) drawing is in Indian Ink on paper and features the hollowing trunk of the tree, shaded (and largely hidden from outside of the reach of its branches) by the evergreen foliage.
