Bexley

Around the 1940’s Arthur Mee was writing The King’s England series of books. He wrote “Bexley’s old yews (there are seven growing in the churchyard) have been growing up while London has been creeping round about, coming almost within sound of her. One of them is believed to be about as old as the Conqueror……..it is one of the oldest yew trees growing so near to London.” A colleague visited Bexley in search of the old tree but found only relatively young yews. The assumption is that the “old as the Conqueror” tree has died and been removed. It is possible somebody might have recollection of this tree and perhaps information about what happened to it. Charles Potter provided the following information: “After some inquiries, it appears that we have only one oldish tree with a girth of about 11 feet, which was examined a few years ago by a tree expert, who thought it to be about 400 years old. The largest yew grows NW of the church. It is beginning to grow into the metal seat that surrounds it.” That tree is seen in the first photo.