A national campaign has been launched to secure the future of the original Bramley apple tree, a venerable specimen over two centuries old, by purchasing the cottage it calls home.
Sown by Mary Ann Brailsford in her parents' garden in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, between 1809 and 1815, this particular tree is the progenitor of millions of Bramley saplings cultivated globally.
Currently owned by Nottingham Trent University, the Bramley Cottages are now on the market, raising fears the historic site could be lost to private ownership.
The Bramley apple has since become one of Britain’s most beloved cooking varieties, with over 300 growers in England contributing to approximately 83,000 tonnes harvested across the UK each year.
Artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, who recently unveiled paintings of the tree, warned that its loss would be "a great travesty and a national embarrassment".
As a co-founder of the campaign, Hall aims to acquire the cottage, ensuring public access to the tree and establishing it as a heritage site for tourists and an educational facility.
Mr Llywelyn Hall, from Wales, said: “Saving this tree for the nation sends a much wider message about preserving our ancient heritage trees and appreciating them like any cultural asset.
“If we can buy paintings for museums for gargantuan sums, why can’t we see these natural wonders as equals and give them due reverence, care and dignity.”
The campaign, also backed by musician and broadcaster Cerys Matthews, is seeking to crowdfund £250,000 towards the purchase of the cottage, with a contribution from a local business.
Almost 50 years after Ms Brailsford planted the tree in the cottage’s garden, a 17-year-old boy named Henry Merryweather came across a gardener carrying some of the apples and asked where they had been grown.
By this time, the garden containing the apple tree belonged to a butcher called Matthew Bramley, who gave Mr Merryweather permission to take cuttings of the “Bramley Seedling”, before the fruits became a cooking staple.
Celia Stevens, who is the great granddaughter of Mr Merryweather, said the original Bramley tree is an “important part of fruit history”.
She said: “To be seen by the public with care and explanations after so many years of service so to speak would be very special to Southwell.
“It has earned recognition, and this venerable old fruit tree is deserving of the many accolades it has received through the years.”
Mrs Stevens said it is “unique” for a tree, which has been affected by honey fungus, “to be alive and in blossom” at the age it is.
The original Bramley tree was cited as one of the 50 Great British Trees in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, and it was one of 70 ancient trees to be dedicated to the Queen for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
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