An alarming 81% of traditional apple orchards have vanished from Britain since the early 1900s, according to a 2022 National Trust study. However, a growing movement of apple activists is working to reverse this decline by planting British heritage varieties in community orchards across the country.
Tom Adams, an apple detective based in The Marches region of Shropshire and Herefordshire, has rediscovered several 'lost' apple varieties. In a neglected orchard, he found a single tree bearing bright yellow apples that was eventually identified as a Bringewood Pippin, a late dessert and cider apple originally raised around 1800 by horticulturalist Thomas Andrew Knight. Adams believes it may have been the only remaining tree of its kind in the country.
The same orchard also yielded three other lost varieties: Gypsy King, Rhymer, and Round Winter Nonesuch. Adams took cuttings from these trees, ensuring their survival by distributing them across the country. Similarly, the Bardsey Island apple, found on a solitary tree off the coast of North Wales, was identified as a previously unknown variety in 2000 and is now grown nationwide thanks to grafts.
Apple growing in Britain dates back to Roman times and is tied to traditions such as wassailing, a Twelfth Night custom of singing to orchard trees. The loss of orchards has impacted biodiversity, but community groups like Common Ground, which launched Apple Day in 1990, are leading a renaissance. Co-founder Sue Clifford noted in 2017 that 'there is much more planting now, a growing urban and rural movement, and a resurgence of interest in ciders.'
