Bibliography

Baxter, Trevor The Eternal Yew (1992)
Bevan-Jones, Robert The Ancient Yew (2002)
Chetan, A. and Brueton, D. The Sacred Yew (1994)
Cornish, Vaughan The Churchyard Yew and Immortality (1946)
Evans, J.Daryll The Churchyard Yews of Gwent (1988)
Hartzell, Hal The Yew Tree – A thousand whispers (1991)
Lowe, John The Yew Trees of Britain and Ireland (1896)
Mills, Ken The Cumbrian Yew Book (1999)
Swanton, E.W. The Yew Trees of England (1958)
Williamson, Richard The Great Yew Forest (1978)
Find out more about the content of these books below

Baxter, Trevor The Eternal Yew
1992 Self Publishing Association Ltd – Hartnolls Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
192 pp 106 b/w illustrations

Chapter 1 Historical Associations

Chapter 2 Unique Growth Style of the Yew

Chapter 3 Botanical Features

Chapter 4 The Yew in Forest and Woodland

Chapter 5 The Country House Yew

Chapter 6 The Churchyard Yew

Postscript and list of Yew Trees from the Tree Register Of the British Isles

Bevan-Jones, Robert The Ancient Yew
2002 Windgather Press
205pp. 53 b/w illustrations 14 colour plates

Foreword by Professor David Bellamy, OBE
Chapter 1 Botanical Features of theYew
Botanical Classifications – Etymology of Taxus and Yew – Some yew place-name evidence – British yew distribution – Toxicity of leaves, roots and bark – The berry, toxicity and variation – Medical treatment after ingestion of yew
Chapter 2 How Old are British Yews?
Dating research, 1900-1975 – Research, 1980-2002 – Assessing older yews in the field – Hollowing – Conclusions
Chapter 3 The Churchyard Yews
The Church Preen yew, Shropshire – The Darley Dale yew, Derbyshire – The Fortingall yew, Perthshire – Buckland-in-Dover yew, Kent - The Selborne yew, Hampshire – Reasons for planting churchyard yews – The origins of churchyard yews – Churchyard yews of Wales – Conclusions: churchyard yews today
Chapter 4 Yews at Abbey Sites
The Ankerwyke Priory yew, Berkshire – Fountains Abbey yews, Yorkshire – The yews of Strata Florida Abbey, Ceredigion
Chapter 5 Yews at Wells and Springs
Yews at wells associated with early Welsh saints – Yews at wells in England – Yews at wells in Scotland and Ireland
Chapter 6 Old Yews in the Wider Historic Landscape
Court of the hundred yews – Other significant yews in the landscape – Conclusions
Chapter 7 Yews in Woods, Hedges and Gardens
British woodland yews – Newlands Corner near Merrow, Surrey – ‘Druid’s Grove’ at Norbury Park, Surrey – The Kingley Vale yew forest, Sussex – The Borrowdale yews, Cumbria – Hedgerow and boundary-marker yews – Formal hedging avenues and topiary – Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and yews
Chapter 8 The Yew in Folklore Traditions
A Hertfordshire St George fights a dragon – A Welsh folklore tale – A mermaid tamed by yew and a rowan pin in Marden, Herefordshire – Twm and Iago in Ffridd yr Ywen, ‘The Forest of the Yew’, in Powys, Wales - The yew of Mac Aingis: an ancient Irish legend – The Scottish Glaistig yew – Tales of hangings from a yew – The head of a virgin hung from a yew near Halifax, Yorkshire – Trees of Trystan and Esyllt – The yew in Anglo-Saxon documents – The yew in early Irish traditions – Five legendary tribal trees of Ireland – The yew in the Cattle Raid of Cooley – The inauguration of the first king of Munster under a yew – Yews and Irish royalty – The yew of Suibne, the mad poet-king – Poets, druids and the yew – Yew Ogam – Records of yews at Irish church sites – The oldest of woods
Chapter 9 Yew: An archaeological Perspective
Yew wood finds of the Palaeolithic period – Yew bows – Bronze Age boats of oak, moss and yew – Yew leaves and branches in a Bronze Age barrow – Bronze Age yew figures from Ralaghan, Ireland – Five late Bronze Age figures from Roos Carr, Humberside – Records of prehistoric deities linked to yew – Iron Age artefacts from Britain – Yew in Iron Age Ireland – Yew stave tankards and buckets
Notes
A gazetteer of Ancient Yews
Bibliography

Chetan, Anand and Brueton, Diana The Sacred Yew
1994 Penguin – Arkana
‘Rediscovering the ancient Tree of Life through the work of Allen Meredith.’
304 pp. 35 b/w illustrations
Foreword by Sir George Trevelyan
Introduction by Professor David Bellamy, OBE
Chapter 1 The Tree of Life
Chapter 2 ‘The Man Who Has Almost Become a Yew Tree’
Chapter 3 Regeneration
Chapter 4 ‘The Life of a Yew, the Length of an Age’
Chapter 5 Why Are Yews in Churchyards?
Chapter 6 Hidden Clues – the Name of the Yew
Chapter 7 Ankerwyke
Chapter 8 The World Tree
Chapter 9 The Yew and the Goddess
Chapter 10 The Yew in Celtic tradition
Chapter 11 Groves and Lone Trees
Chapter 12 Under the Greenwood Tree
Chapter 13 The Sacred Trees of Ireland
Chapter 14 Yew Medicine
Chapter 15 Guardian of the Planet
Appendix 1 Caring for Yews
Appendix 2 Recorded Planting Dates and Growth
Appendix 3 Recorded Measurements
Gazetteer of Ancient Yews
Notes and References
Select Bibliography

Cornish, Vaughan The Churchyard Yew and Immortality
1946 Muller and Company
111 pp. 14 b/w illustrations 12 maps and diagrams

Introduction by the Archbishop of York
Chapter 1 Churchyard Yews of England and Wales, and their adoption in Normandy
The Village Church and the Origin of its Yew Tree - The Churchyard Yew of Salcombe Regis - The Diocesan and Parochial Maps of Churchyard Yews - Examples of Remarkable Churchyard Yews - The Churchyard Yews of Normandy - Yew Trees of Circular Churchyards - Associations of Churchyard Yews with Customs of the People - The Churchyard Yew and Palm Sunday - Modern Speculation on the Origin of Churchyard Yews - A Sermon on the Churchyard Yew
Chapter 2 Churchyard Yews of Ireland and Scotland.
The Distribution of Graveyard Yews in Scotland in Relation to the Missionary Work of St. Ninian - The Scarcity of Churchyard Yews in the Eastern Lowlands but their Prevalence in the Grounds of Private Mansions - Yew Trees beside Family Vaults in Scottish Churchyards
Chapter 3 Churchyard Yews of Dioceses and Parishes.
Churchyard Yews of the Dioceses of England and Wales – Churchyard Yews of the Parishes of England – Churchyard Yews of the Parishes of Wales – Churchyard Yews of Normandy – Churchyard Yews of the Dioceses of Ireland – Yews in churchyards and burial grounds of Scotland – Churches of St. Ninian’s Foundation in Scotland

Bibliography

Evans, J.Daryll The Churchyard Yews of Gwent
1988 Archangel Press
167 pp. 25 b/w illustrations
Foreword by The Lord Bishop of Monmouth
Chapter 1 Vandal or eccentric?
Chapter 2 By accident or design
Chapter 3 What manner of tree?
Chapter 4 Measuring up (and across and around)
Chapter 5 You are old, Father William…
Chapter 6 The broader canvas
Chapter 7 The detailed patterns
Chapter 8 The red wood is a red herring
Chapter 9 Seeking the meaning

Appendix 1 Calculation of Theoretic Age of a yew by David L.Prothero, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Appendix 2 List of sites visited

Hartzell, Jr., Hal The Yew Tree – A thousand whispers
1991 Hulogosi Press, Oregon,USA
319 pp. 52 illustrations and 36 b/w photographs
PART 1: OLD WORLD YEW
1 Mythic Qualities
Image – The Classical Record – Celtic Allusions – Longevity – Utility – Robin Hood – William Tell – Lethal Reputation
2 Sacred Connections
The Triple Goddess – Funeral Rites – Votive Objects – Celtic Folklore – English Folklore – Scottish Folklore – European Folklore – Yew and the Alphabet – Etymology of Yew
3 Historical Impact
William the Conqueror – Henry II – Edward I – The Hundred Years War – The War of the Roses – Henry VIII – The Mary Rose – Elizabeth I – The English Civil War
PART 2: BOTANY AND GEOGRAPHY
4 The Genus Taxus Worldwide
Ancient Taxus – Seven Species – North American Yew – Japanese Yew – Chinese yew – Himalayan yew – Yew Cultivars
5 European yew (Taxus Baccata)
Distribution – Place Names – Uses as Wood – Poison and Medicine – Yew Forests – Hedges and Topiary
PART 3: LIVING WITNESS TO HUMAN HISTORY
6 Ancient Living Yews
Darley Dale Yew – Determining the Age of Yew Trees – Tisbury Yew – Druid Sites – Early Christianity – Norman Churches – Cad Goddeau
7 Churchyard Yews
Religious Functions – Practical Purposes – Supernatural Powers – Famous Preachers – Selborne Yew – Crowhurst Yew – More Old Yew Trees
PART 4: CULTURE AND GEOGRAPHY OF PACIFIC YEW
8 Native Americans and Pacific yew
9 Pacific Yew (Taxus Brevifolia)
PART 5: THE MODERN DILEMMA
10 Taxol, Cancer, Yew Bark
11 Dealing with the Dilemma
12 Renewable Resources for Taxol
PART 6: THE METAPHORICAL YEW
13 Poetic Image
Dark Appearance – Sexual Characteristics – Longbow – Funeral Rites – Numinous Intonations – Graveyard Yew
14 Immortality
Embodiment – The Haunted Yew – Intimations of Immortality – Yew in the Works of T.S.Eliot – The yew and the Rose

Appendix1 Yew trees larger than 20ft girth in England and Wales
Appendix 2 Notable topiary and hedges in England
Appendix 3 Yew species and cultivars
Chapter notes
Bibliography

Lowe, John The Yew Trees of Britain and Ireland
1896 Macmillan
270 pp. 39 b/w illustrations

Introduction
Chapter 1
Taxus Baccata, L. – Varieties – Etymology of Yew - Epithets
Chapter 2
Geographical distribution – Indigenous – Geological remains – Sparse distribution in England – Reasons for this.
Chapter 3
Age of yew-trees – Considered slow growing – Mode of estimating age – Traditional accounts – Age of contiguous buildings – De Candolle’s method of calculating age – Rings of growth – In young trees,correct – In old, erroneous – Rejuvenescence – Increase by welding of young shoots – Variable growth.
Chapter 4
Rate of growth – Point of measurement – Sir R. Christison’s view – Objections – Instances – Measurements of trees of known age – Increase at fixed points and at stated periods – Examples – Dr. Christison’s and Dr. Beddoe’s measurements – Mr. Bowman’s method – Trephine – Objections – Traditional accounts – Fallacies – Rate of growth in old trees – Periods of rest and growth.
Chapter 5
Causes and variation in growth – Retardation and acceleration – Pollarding – its meaning – Frequency – Causes – Results – Rings of wood – Hollow trunks becoming solid.
Chapter 6
Notable trees and their measurements – in England and Wales – in Scotland and in Ireland – All trees of 10ft in girth and upwards – Trees of 30 ft in girth and upwards in England and Wales.
Chapter 7
Why planted in churchyards – Druidical, Roman, and Christian customs – Early English writers – Funeral customs – Symbolism – Shelter of buildings – For providing bow-wood – Hansard’s objections – Planted in churchyards in Germany and Normandy.
Chapter 8
Character of Yew wood – Uses – Manufacture – Value – ‘Saint’s Yew’.
Chapter 9
Bows – Ancient use – Long-bow – Battle of Hastings – Its value in English wars – English supremacy – Various statutes – Forest laws – Edward II – Edward III – Edward IV – French archers – Statute of Henry VIII – Elizabeth – ‘Act of Bowyers’ – Prices - Importation of foreign bows – Act of Philip and Mary – Companies of archers – Commission of Charles I – Bow-making – Cross-bows made of yew – Its inferiority to the long-bow.
Chapter 10
Poisonous properties of the yew – Classical notices – Wood – Leaves – Fruit poisonous – Dangerous statements to the contrary – Effects on man – Taxin in male and female plants – Medicinal use – Valuable as a cardiac tonic – Poisonous effects on animals.
Chapter 11
Poetical allusions, etc., to the yew in ancient and modern times.
Chapter 12
Notes, historical,etc., on some of the more remarkable trees in Great Britain and Ireland.
Bibliography

Mills, Ken The Cumbrian Yew Book
1999 Published by Yew Trees for the Millennium
64 pp. Colour illustrations
Foreword by Professor David Bellamy, OBE
Chapter 1 The Biology of the Yew
Chapter 2 Yews in the Landscape
Chapter 3 The Borrowdale Yews
Chapter 4 Other Varieties of the Common Yew
Chapter 5 Yews in Woodland
Chapter 6 Pride of Lorton Vale
Chapter 7 The Spiritual Dimension
Chapter 8 Martindale Old Church
Chapter 9 Yew Timber and Its Uses
Chapter 10 Lanercost Priory
Chapter 11 Old Church Hotel
Chapter 12 The Life Span of a Yew
Chapter 13 Yews in Gardens
Chapter 14 Armathwaite Hall Hotel
Chapter 15 Cumbria’s Yeomen Farmers
Chapter 16 Caring for Yews – Caring for the Planet
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Appendix 1 Register of Ancient Yews in Cumbria
Appendix 2 Girth/Age Graph
Appendix 3 Useful addresses

Swanton, E.W. The Yew Trees of England
1958 Farnham
54 pp. 11 b/w illustrations

Chapter 1 Introductory Notes
Botanical description – Distribution – Avenues and hedges – The variety fastigiata – Other varieties – Etymology – Place-name – Poisonous properties – Uses – Archery – Cottage gardens – Parasites – Lightning – Poetical allusions – Folklore.
Chapter 2 Growth and Age
Annular rings – Growth rapid in young trees – Do old trees sometimes grow faster than young ones? – Periods of rest – Hollow trunks becoming filled up – Methods of estimating age, De Candolle’s, Sir Robert Christison’s and Dr. John Lowe’s – Notes and observations – How to estimate approximate age – Influence of environment – Exaggerated estimates of age.
Chapter 3 Abnormal Conditions
Topiary work – At Harlington – East Bedfont “peacocks” – The Twyford “umbrella” – Pollarding – Henbury avenue – Root pruning – Recuperative power – Removal of the Buckland St. Mary yew – Freak growth.
Chapter 4 The Churchyard Yew
When and why planted – An ancient custom – Veneration – Memorial trees – Punishment for damage – Evergreen for festivals – Pagan and Christian customs – A remarkable survival – Providing shelter – Connection with archery – Position – Rarely coeval with the Church – Age frequently exaggerated – Domesday reference – Single lead – Replacement – Hollow trunks used as receptacles – Need for protection – W.H. Hudson quoted.
Chapter 5 Some Veterans
Recorded by Lowe – Prostrate yews at Fountains Abbey – List of twenty-two trees – Descriptive notes.
Chapter 6 Additional Records
Yews of particular interest – Forty-eight not recorded by Lowe – Descriptions.
Chapter 7 The Oldest Yews
All are pre-Conquest - Four have hollow trunks that are filling up with internal growth – List of twelve trees with descriptive notes.
Chapter 8 Bygones
Aldworth – Brabourne – Bucklebury – Dibden – Hampstead Marshall – Hedsor – Patterdale – Llanthewy Vach – Windlesham.

Williamson, Richard The Great Yew Forest: the Natural History of Kingley Vale
1978 Macmillan
208 pp. b/w photos and line drawings
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