Crofton Old Church

I was informed that a yew stood for at least 700 years in front of the door of Crofton Old Church, ‘but had to be felled some 10 or 15 years ago, since it was in danger of falling on the church itself (it was already leaning badly, and had been propped)’. There were apparently ‘parish records of the tree, and that the stump may well remain’.
The Penny Post of 1875 has the following entry: ‘In the churchyard of Crofton church, Hants, on the south side, near the door, is a large flourishing yew-tree, known to be 600 years old’.
Peter Norton: as well as the young female yew growing close to the porch is a much younger male east of the church on the churchyard perimeter.