 "Highclere Holly" ("Ilex altaclerensis") was first identified here and still flourishes in local woodlands.According to local legend there used to be a grampus living in a yew tree in the churchyard of the Highclere Estate Chapel.On 22 August 1213, King John stayed at Peter des Roches the Bishop of Winchester's manor at Highclere, then called Bishop's Clere.