The route to success
The original tree, raised by Mary Ann Brailsford between 1809 and 1815, was subsequently owned by butcher Matthew Bramley. After it fruited in 1837, Bramley allowed gardener Henry Merryweather to take cuttings on the proviso they used the name ‘Bramley’s Seedling’. Merryweather first sold three trees in 1862 for two shillings. The cooking apple, with its rich, sharp acidity, was highly commended by the RHS at an apple conference in 1883 and was taken up by commercial growers by 1900. Today, there are 300 ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ growers in the UK, with 83,000 tonnes of fruit produced annually.
Trees propagated from the original are available from www.orangepippintrees. co.uk; tel: 01759 392007, and www.hedging.co.uk; tel: 01280 827910.
‘Why are our ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ red?’ See Problem Solver on page 39.