Keffolds Farm

November 1901 – The Surrey Magazine: In an article ‘Notes on our yew trees’, E.W.Swanton describes the tree (which he calls Kiffold’s Yew) as one ‘which should stand in the first rank of Surrey giants………The tree stands upon sloping ground, and the undergrowth on the upper side makes accurate measurement a difficult matter, but it certainly exceeds 24ft. in girth at 3 ft. from the ground. The trunk is so very short that no measurement could well be taken at any other point. It is a female tree, The trunks is hollow; many large branches have broken off by gales during the past centuries.’ Polyporus Sulphureus was noted on a broken branch.
March 1955: G.O. Allen and A. Jewell examined the tree and recorded a girth of 28′ (853cm) at 6′. The fungus Swanton had seen was no longer noticeable and they considered the tree to be in ‘a reasonably good state and far from being a wreck’. They noted main branches rising about 8/9′ from the ground, and no leading branch.
1961 Alan Mitchell: Girth of 29′ at 5′.
November 5th 1982 – Allen Meredith: “The tree stands on particularly high ground, quite exposed on the slope. It is WSW from the farm house. I understand that this tree does have a protection order, ity will be a good day when all such ancient yews have a protection order. I measured the tree at 5′ from the ground and found the girth was approximately 28′ 9” (876cm). I measured it at 3ft from the ground and the girth was a little larger 29′ 4” (894cm). Many small branches protruding from the tree made it difficult to measure. A solid looking tree, must have been quite hollow at some stage, now only one small hole traceable at base, some 3 feet in length and only a few inches across. The tree has grown inside its hollow shell over the centuries and now looks completely intact, you can see inside the small hollow where the tree has grown.”
September 2000 – Tim Hills: My notes record “a large female yew of no great height. Thick foliage, trimmed all round as if to leave a 4′ gap between the ground and foliage. It had obvious hollows, though only one gap on the side seen from the path. I saw no gall on a very green and healthy looking tree.”
August 2023 – Michael Roberts: Trunk diameter 2850mm @750mm. Height 17m. Radial crown spread N9m, E9m, S9m, W7.5m. Crown clearance 0.5m, height to 1st branch 0.75m.