Your House and Mine |
The Yew Tree Inn |
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Introduction
Map of Frieth Moor End Bramblings Astrea Merrydown Cottage Corner Cottage Moor's End Cottages Moor Gate House Underwood The Copse Fingest Road The Forge Folly Cottages The Willows Perrin Springs Lane Perrin Springs West's Cottages Ellery Rise Hilliers Lynden Cottage Frieth Hill Hillside Cottage Rowleys Pear Tree Cottage Hillside View The Platt Little Barlows Cutlers Cottage Yew Tree Cottage Little Cottage Barlows Birch Cottage Tedders / Rose Cottage The Old Stores The Yew Tree Inn Fairfield House Flint Cottage 1 Flint Cottage 2 Inglenook Middle Cottage Sunny Corner The Gables The Orchards Hilltop Cattons Mallards Hillswood The Old Parsonage White Gates The Laurels The Cottage The Firm Marlstone Westwood Bradstone Haylescroft The Niche Rivendell Summerhill Ashcroft Selborne The Ranch House Sara's Cottage The Cherries The Old School House Innings Road Collier's Farm Innings Gate Down the Lane Sunset Cottage Fermain Chilterns Rowan Cottage Creighton Cottage Apple Tree Old Well Cottage The Cottage Flat Roof Whitsun Backlins Red Kites Maidenscraft Spurgrove Lane Maidencraft Cottage September Cottage Spurgrove Cottage Gable End Willems Elder Barn Sunnydale |
The Yew Tree Inn is on the opposite side of the road from Barlows, as mentioned earlier. The deeds of this property go back to the 16th Century. A deed dated 7th March 1600 says that "Thomas Rockall, husbandman, and his mother Alice Rockall (sold this property), four tenements with barns, outhouses and a Close of about 2 acres of land at Ffreath to Nicholas Allyn of Hambleden, tailor" An old barn and some plots of land were leased to John Collins, alias John Deane, and the rest to William Keyley. Whether by the Barlow/Keyley marriage mentioned earlier or not, the Barlows family seemed to have an interest in this property and certainly farmed the land if nothing more - only a detailed study of the property deeds could reveal this. By 1840 Thomas Collier had married Hannah Barlow and was living at The Yew Tree and in the 1841 census styles himself as "Farmer". It was Thomas who had the yew tree planted in the front garden. The census returns for 1851 give John Turner living at The Yew Tree, he styled himself "Baker, publican and farmer of 14 acres" So can we assume it was he who first kept a beer house there? In 1881 John Turner and family were still there and this time his title was "Baker, farmer of 20 acres and publican of The Yew Tree" Some time during the 19th century The Yew Tree was bought by Wethereds Brewery.
 The Yew Tree in about 1933 also serving "Teas" the small sign says Fred Leaver was followed by his daughter Emma Keep, then came Emma's son Wilfrid Keep and family who gave up the tenancy in [ blank - can anyone help ? ] when the Yew Tree became a free house. Up to this time the Yew Tree was a village pub, the room to the left being the public bar with scrubbed tables and benches and beer drawn from the wood. The room to the right was the family parlour, plus piano, opened on Saturday evenings and special occasions for a sing-song when a pianist could be found.
[ In the May 24, 1941 edition of Picture Post, amongst articles fuelled by the fear of imminent invasion: "The
Men Who Must Be Driven Back into the Sea", "How the Nazis have
Prepared" etc we find "Whatever is Going On at the Yew Tree?" Since becoming a free house there has been a succession of five owners [ in 2001 ] who have between them altered and extended this property and, in common with most country pubs, The Yew Tree is now a Village Inn and Restaurant. The pub is now, sadly, closed and we are waiting to see what happens next [2014] Great to see the pub back in business now [2018] |
