I mentioned recently that Yew (Taxus baccata) can be used for hedging. As seen above it can be clipped to form a barrier of dense solidity. But you generally only see Yew hedges with old buildings. Taxus baccata grows very slowly so planting it for that purpose requires patience.

 These days species like Cherry Laurel (Prunus lauroceracus) are much in evidence. I notice that one supplier of bare root hedging states that Yew will grow 20-30cm in a year whereas Cherry Laurel will grow 30-60cm. That's probably overstating Yew and underestimating Cherry Laurel.