Orchards were a highly valued part of medieval gardens, for both their ornamental and productive qualities.
Trees were traditionally planted in four corners of a square, with one in the middle (like the five on a dice), which then provided shady alleyways and walks for flowers like violets, daisies and periwinkles to grow, which when mixed with blossom, created an image of the Garden of Eden.
All about apples
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Britain is the only country with distinction between cooking and dessert apples; relatively few dessert apples were grown before the 16th century. Raw fruit was not considered good to eat - and was thought to cause 'bad stomach' and fevers. |
Cooked apples, however, were thought to calm the stomach and ease chest pains.
Although apples were used to bulk up meat, and produce Verjuice (a form of vinegar used for preservation), most apples were produced for cider, which in the 17th century was a match for the best French wines!
By the mid 17th century, the cultivation of fruit trees began to reflect the puritanical principles of self-sufficiency, and in 1655, it was even suggested that a law be passed to make the planting of fruit trees compulsory amongst landowning classes.
Pears were also grown, and a few perry orchards such as the one at Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire were established. However, the British climate favours apples, which, by the 19th century were at the height of their popularity, with hundreds of new varieties being introduced.
By the late 20th century though, two thirds of the countries orchards had been destroyed by development.
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Some orchards to visit
© NTPL / Stephen Robson
Acorn Bank, Cumbria, Ardress House, Co. Armagh, Attingham Park, Shropshire, Barrington Court, Somerset, Berrington Hall, Hereford & Worcester, Compton Castle, Devon, Cotehele, Cornwall, Erddig, Clywd, Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk, Fenton House, London, Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire, Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire, Standen, West Sussex, Trelissick, Cornwall
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