Mersham

May 2013 – Tim Hills: The notable yew is the large tree in the painting of 1898 and is also seen in the photograph. It is female and grows south of the church. Girths in 2013 were 12′ 3” (373cm) at 2′, 12′ 7” (384cm) at 3′ and 12′ 9” (389cm) at 4′. It has been recorded for the Ancient Tree Hunt as tree 2379.
The small yew to its right, planted in 1829, would therefore have been at least 70 years old (since we do not know how old it was when planted) at the time of the painting. That male tree now grows on a pronounced mound and had a girth of 8′ 10” at about 1′, the only place it could be measured because of branch development.
The other tree planted in 1829 grows east of the church. It too is on a mound, and it girthed 7′ 9” at 2′ and 8′ 4” at 3′.