Seventy-five per cent of Gloucestershire's orchards have been lost in the past 50 years. Agricultural changes and lack of demand, foreign competition and finally the supermarket all aided the demise of many local orchards and varieties. Despite this decline, Gloucestershire still has areas where orchards form a strong traditional landscape character; the Berkeley Vale and Dymock area still contain a noticeable number of orchard trees with many local varieties.
The early 90s saw an orchard revival. The Great Storm led to a realisation that the remaining orchards were under great threat.
Survey work carried out by the county council's landscape architects in 1991 led to a landscape strategy. Key landscape features that showed neglect, including orchards, were chosen to become target areas for action. In 1992 the county's 'Restoring our Landscape' grant was introduced which has since resulted in over 3000 orchard trees being planted. The council also put together an information pack listing local varieties, suppliers and advice on planting.
Chairman, Dave Kaspar (left) is presented with Charles Martell’s (right) unique Gloucestershire apple data at 2008 GOG AGM.
Many local varieties were endangered and in many cases only one tree remained, resulting in a high percentage of Gloucestershire varieties being lost. To stem this decline, local varieties have been located, identified, grafted or budded over the last 10 years, many by Gloucester cattle/cheese farmer and county fruit expert Charles Martell. The now certified varieties have been budded on, to create a public bank of trees known as a Mother Tree Orchard for the county at Uckington, near Cheltenham (not open to the public), maintained by county arboriculturalist Alan Watson. From this a museum apple orchard of all the known Gloucestershire apple varieties has now been planted at Brookthorpe, near Gloucester at the GOG Orchard & Rural Skills Centre where most of the orchard management training courses take place with Dave Kaspar and Helen Brent-Smith (see www.dayscottage.co.uk). Dave and Helen also run their organic and award-winning juice, cider and perry business and sell Gloucestershire varieties of fruit at Stroud and Bristol farmers markets, bringing full circle the marketing of local produce.
A Gloucestershire plum collection with Gloucestershire County Council and GOG is planned, mainly from Charles Martell's existing Reference Prunus Collection at his Hunts Court Farm at Dymock. Download Native Plums of Gloucestershire »
Perry pear collections have been established by Charles Martell, Jim Chapman and others. Jim has recently built a Perry Pear Orchard Centre with Heritage Lottery Funding at Hartpury alongside his NCCPG collection of almost all known perry pears from the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire (and beyond). He now runs accredited cider and perry courses with Peter Mitchell.
See the Hartpury Collection 1, Hartpury Collection 2, National Collection of Perry Pears, Perry Pear Update and www.tasteandexplore.com for more information »
Overall, orchard loss has now stabilised especially with public interest in old apple varieties. Farm shops and markets are also helping re-establish a "taste' revival, with local apple and plum selections. It will take time to re-educate people's palates. This is important as we need to have a market for traditional varieties other than home consumption. But we feel the tide has turned. Many heritage varieties of fruit tree have now been planted across Gloucestershire, in private collections, gardens, community green spaces, schools and farmland. Richard Fawcett's vision for restoration of the landscape has begun!
The Constitution
- Name:
- The organisation will be known as The Gloucestershire Orchard Group.
- Aim:
- To conserve, promote and celebrate traditional orchards within Gloucestershire.
- Objectives:
- To share resources and exchange information To educate at the local level To develop orcharding skills To promote orcharding practice that enhances biodiversity
Activities and resources to support effective working will include:
- Networking:
- The provision of a local directory of members and skills. This will be a supplement to the Restoring Gloucestershire Orchards booklet. The aim is to aid the giving of advice to individuals, groups, and organiations wanting to take action by directing them to the most appropriate person or organisation.
- Education:
- To identify the needs and to promote suitable training and development for all ages.
- Promotion:
- Publicising the help available to individuals, groups and organisations. Selecting key projects and celebrations for press and media attention. Produce articles about key projects with reference to the action process. Disseminate by means of website/newsletter and information sheets. To promote new and local markets.
- Outreach:
- Initiatives which inspire new audiences.
Organisation
GOG was founded in 2001, originally by Gloucestershire County Council (Anna Jones, Richard Fawcett and Alan Watson) and volunteers (Ann Smith, Dave Kaspar, Helen Brent-Smith, Juliet Bailey and Elaine Shears), with the benefit of Charles Martell's research and scion wood. Heritage fruit trees were then sold by nurserymen Dave Kaspar and farmer Rob Watkins of Lodge Farm Trees and the range of varieties for sale on a range of rootstocks increases year on year. Charles Martell's books with detailed documentation and photographs of all the county's apple, plum and damson are now available on the GOG website.
Membership has reached about 250 with a rolling programme of training in pruning, grafting, budding and fruit identification, Apple Days, Plum and Pear Days, orchard walks and talks, Blossom Days, Communal Juicing and celebration of our orchard heritage. GOG was delighted to receive £20,000 in 2007 for the development of the Orchard & Rural Skills Centre at Brookthorpe, near Gloucester (Gloucestershire Environmental Trust/Cory Environmental grant). A marketing website was launched in 2009 for the exchange of fruit and fruit-related produce, by Pete Smith and Heritage Lottery Funding through Hartpury Historic Land & Buildings Trust. GOG is seeking charitable status in 2010.
Honorary members
Richard Fawcett, Alan Watson and Charles Martell.
Committee
GOG is run by a committee of volunteers, who give much of their time to the group and answer hundreds of orchard-related enquiries each year. They are passionate about raising awareness of our unique county's heritage and of restoring the landscape. Traditional orchards are host to up to 1800 varieties of fauna and flora and biodiversity is a vital part of GOG's outreach, in our changing climate. GOG has strong links with Natural England, the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (assisting them in their national orchard survey), the National Trust and many other organizations (see Links and Corporate Members).
GOG also has strong links with the National Orchard Forum, a voluntary umbrella organization which includes and shares best practice between other heritage orchard groups throughout the UK.
GOG links well with South Gloucestershire orchard activities through South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol community orchard groups. Contact us for details and a Bristol orchard group listing.
- Dave Kaspar (Chairman)
- Paul Bloomer (Treasurer)
- Ann Smith (secretary/coordinator/newsletter editor & membership secretary)
- Helen Brent-Smith
- Juliet Bailey (Gloucestershire Naturalists Society & BAP partnership)
- Alan Watson (county arboriculturist and co founder of GOG)
- Jim Chapman (Hartpury Historic Land & Buildings Trust & perry orchard centre)
- Martin Hayes (chief orchard surveyor, tree surgeon, schools)
- Chris Wedge (Natural England & UK Habitat Action Plan group)
- Rob Watkins (nurseryman of Lodge Farm Trees, nr Berkeley)
- Meyrick Brentnall (Gloucester City Council/Severnside Project)
- Pete Smith (webmaster)
Dave and Helen also run Days Cottage Apple Juice (organic juice, cider & perry makers) and manage the GOG Orchard & Rural Skills Centre and their museum orchard in Brookthorpe, Gloucester.
