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Thryft House Farm

Nearest town: Sheffield

Site type: garden

Access: Private

Church name:

Diocese:

County: Yorkshire - South

Country: England

Grid ref: SK312839

Lost yew site: No

Date visited: 19-Mar-08

Recorded by: Edwin Pretty

Protection & responsibility: No data

Yews recorded at this site: Ancient 5m-7m

Notes: Although now in a garden, this yew is situated on an ancient boundary. The house nearby dates back to 1504. An article in the Hallamshire Historian vol1 no2, spring 1987 p36/37 described the tree as 'possibly the oldest living thing in Sheffield.' The writer (M.J.) acknowledges that 'it is difficult to measure how much of its present bulk is due to one trunk or multiple trunks but even so the yew is of great antiquity. Oliver Rackham in The History of the Countryside (1986) is much more sceptical about those yews said to be of fabulous antiquity but acknowledges that some big yews will be of medieval origin. Whatever the exact age of the Thryft House Farm yew, it is of great botanical interest.' In John Thomas' 1884 Walks in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield, he describes Thryfte House as standing on, or rather leaning against 'a little knoll, dotted with antique firs and old beeches.'