Maud’s Elm

As I have a fascination with tree stories, I was most interested in Jan Bondeson’s ‘The Mystery of Maud’s Elm’ [ FT406:44-48]. When the poor old tree was finally cut down, did no one think to remove the stump and see if there were any human bones beneath, thus verifying the legend? Was there a dig, by a local antiquarian perhaps, but with embarrassingly negative results hushed up? Or has it been a case of letting sleeping dogs lie, allowing the story, if not the tree, to live on?

Arthur Burton

Maidstone, Kent

Jan Bondeson replies:

At the time, the brief notices in the local papers made no mention of any excavation of the area around the stump. The traditionalists might have hoped that the pelvis, spinal column and skull might have survived, depending on when Maud was buried at the crossroads. Had there been an investigation, the rationalists would have pooh-poohed the finding of skeletal remains, presuming that some tramp had been buried at the site many years ago. Had no remains been found, the traditionalists might have raised the possibility of Maud’s corpse being unearthed and eaten by foxes and badgers.