The Church Orchard

The Church Orchard is at the southern edge of Church Field, on the area between Town Beck and Church Street. In the 1980’s it was overgrown and wild, and the then Rector Dennis Shaw and the late Derek Law, who lived in Watersmeet House overlooking Church Field, decided to create an orchard there. Derek was inspired by the writings of 18th Century cleric Revd. Gilbert White, specifically the book Garden Kalendar in which White recorded the work and produce of his Rectory orchard in Selborne, Hampshire, which he used freely to supplement the diets of his poorer parishioners. White’s orchard contained what were the latest fruit varieties in his day.

The Addingham site, though roughly the same size as White’s orchard, was far from ideal – partly sloping, north-facing and subject to frost, weed-filled and containing dumped building rubble, tarmac and general rubbish. The flat area at the bottom of the slope had good soil but was prone to flooding. It took Derek six months to clear the ground ready for planting.

He started by trial and error, to see what grew best, and used a mixture of fruit varieties, some ancient and some more modern but all grown in the manner of a traditional English orchard. It took life-long committed hard work to produce the orchard you see today. Derek was helped in this endeavour through the years by his wife Anne, and by a team of volunteers, assisting to keep the ground clean to avoid pests, pruning, harvesting, and distributing the crop. It is the volunteers who have carried on the work since Derek’s final illness.

Fruit varieties

The orchard contains many fruit trees and produces a wide range of top fruit, stone fruit and soft fruit. Over the years these have included:

Apples: Discovery, George Cave, Red Melba, Michaelmas Red, Baker’s Delicious, James Grieve, Katya, Ellison’s Orange, Laxton’s Fortune, Egremont Russet, Tom Putt, Norfolk Royal, Pitsmaston Pineapple, Laxtons’s Superb, Wyken Pippen, Wagener, Keswick Coolin, Rev W Wilks, Stirling Castle, Lord Derby, Grenadier, Golden Noble, Early Victoria, George Neal, Striped Beefing, Annie Elizabeth.

Pears: Dr Jules Guyot, Fertility Improved, Beurre Hardy, Conference,  Doyenne du Comice, Packham’s Triumph.

Plums: Oullin’s Gage, Victoria, French Gage,  Coe’s Golden Drop, Ontario, Count Althann’s Gage, Giant Prune,  Warwickshire Drooper, Opal.

Damson: Merryweather.

Medlar: Nottingham.

Quince: Portugal.

Cherry: Governor Wood, Merton Bigarreau, Stella.

Nuts: Nottingham Cob, Lambert’s Filbert, White Filbert, Cosford Cob, Sweet Chestnut.

Peaches: Peregrine, Rochester, Red Haven.

Apricot: Moor Park Early.

Fig: Marseilles White, Brown Turkey.

Blackberry: John Innes, Oregon Thornless.

Redcurrant: Red Lake, Jonkheer van Tets.

White Currant: White Versailles.

Blackcurrant: Ben Sarek, Ben Lomond.

Raspberry: Glen Clova, Autumn Bliss.

Rhubarb: Timperly Early, Cawood Castle.

High Bush Blueberry: Bluecrop, Bluetta, Herbert, Berkeley.

Loganberry

Tayberry

Gooseberry: Invicta, Leveller, White Smith, Lancashire Lad.

Strawberry: Elsanta, Aromel.

Pollination

Without pollination there would be no fruit. Most fruit varieties need to be cross pollinated by a different variety to ensure a good fruit set, and even self-fertile varieties require pollen to be moved from one flower to another. In this orchard, different varieties which flower at the same time are therefore grouped together to encourage cross pollination, but ultimately success depends on insects, especially bees. For this reason the surrounding planting is designed to attract insect life into the orchard and specifically around the trees.

Trees, shrubs and planting

Flowering trees, shrubs and plants have been added over time around the orchard and in the woodland area, flowering successively and attracting insects from early Spring to late Summer. There is a beautiful carpet of snowdrops in Spring, thanks to the vision and hard work of Anne Law. Elms were lost to Dutch Elm disease in the early 1990’s (but the timber was put to good use as steps, barriers, banking and as log piles to house beetles and bugs, which in term provide food for nesting birds). Replacement trees in the woodland area include Silver Birches, Sweet Chestnut and Red Oak. Throughout the orchard you may also see:

• Willows (Salix) aegyptiaca, daphnoides, caprea, alba, britzensis, vitellina (the extensive root systems of the willow are integral to supporting the bank of Town Beck, especially at times of flood)
• Vibernum farrari, Vibernum plicatum Mariesii “Wedding Cake Tree”
• wild Daffodils, Crocus, Bluebells
• Hellebores, Fritillaries, Camassias, Geraniums, Tulips
• Wild Roses
• Hawthorn, Elderberry, Snowberry, Ivy, Hollly
• Sorbus, Wild Cherry, Crab Apples

Maintenance

No sprays are used in this orchard, so any pests have to be controlled by other insects which eat them; wasps and hoverflies are wonderful for pest control, even though, like the birds, they eventually turn their attention to the very ripe fruit. Not many of the top fruit varieties suffer blemishes – and even if they do, it does no affect the taste or quality of the fruit.

Pruning here is light, maintaining the irregular and individual beauty of each tree, unlike commercial orchards where trees are pruned more uniformly for ease of harvesting.

Cutting of paths through the grass generally takes place from April onwards, allowing easier movement around the orchard. Uncut grass under the trees grows very tall at this time of year and is a potential hide for predators, so birds prefer the security of the mown paths. The long grasses are cut back from early July onwards as the various fruits develop and trees shed and drop excess fruit. “Fallers” are removed as part to the orchard hygiene regime; alongside pruning, this lessens the effect of diseases.

Harvest

The orchard crops from the end of June through to Autumn. Birds raid some of the fruit, but there is plenty to go round – in a good year the crop can be as much as eight tons of apples and pears and many pounds of soft fruit. In the early days, some were reluctant to share in the orchard’s produce, preferring fruit of more uniform appearance from the supermarket over the delicious taste of fresh homegrown local harvest, but nowadays there is no shortage of appreciative recipients for the fruit the orchard produces.

Visiting the orchard

The Church Orchard is open to visitors on special occasions – keep an eye out for details! (Please, don’t enter the orchard at other times unless you are one of the volunteers who help to maintain it.)

You can read more about the development of English orchards, in Derek’s own words, here

You can find out more about the musical installation within the Church Orchard here

Volunteering

Can you volunteer to help maintain this traditional orchard? Many hands make light work! To find out more, please get in touch.

Get in touch

email to contact@stpetersaddingham.org.uk

phone the Church Office on 01943 830 306

PLEASE NOTE : the bridge from Church Field into the orchard is currently UNSAFE – please do not use it!