I t is the mother tree of perhaps the most popular cooking apple in the world. But the original bramley apple has been neglected and barred from publi

‘It’s appalling’: original bramley apple tree being neglected, say campaigners

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2024-10-26 07:00:04

I t is the mother tree of perhaps the most popular cooking apple in the world. But the original bramley apple has been neglected and barred from public view, according to descendants of the gardener who discovered it.

The 220-year-old apple tree is still fruiting in the garden of a cottage in Southwell, the Nottinghamshire village that on Saturday hosts an annual festival celebrating the bramley apple.

But Celia Stevens, great-granddaughter of Henry Merryweather, the man who first spotted the potential of the unique hybrid apple, says the owners of the cottage garden, Nottingham Trent University, are neglecting the tree.

According to Stevens, the tree is surrounded by nettles, with honey fungus, a pathogen that is slowly killing the ageing tree, allowed to run rampant.

“When the university bought the cottage we thought, oh wonderful, they can now take care of the tree and the public can see its importance and what it represents,” she says. “But it’s surrounded by nettles and I even saw some honey fungus when I was allowed to visit it. It’s a tiny garden and its surrounds do not reflect this wonderful tree and what it’s done for our country.”