Historic orchards at Wightwick Manor

Looking through a tree laden with apples to the garden with Wightwick Manor in the background

The orchards are a great place to have a picnic in the gardens at Wightwick. In the springtime, smell the honey-scented blossom, take shade under the branches in the summer and marvel at the colours in the autumn.

With over 52 varieties, you are sure to find your favourite

Most of our apple varieties were popular in the late 18th and early 19th-centuries and would have been used by the Mander’s cook to create seasonal favourites. There are not only eating apples, you can find cooking and cider apples too.

Not just apples

Fruit trees were important in a garden such as Wightwick and were meant to support the whole household including servants. The fruit could be stored or preserved to provide food throughout the Winter.

In our three orchards we have a wide range of fruiting trees including Pear, Quince, Plum, Damson, Cherry and Mulberry in the Kitchen Garden. Pear, Plum, Crab apple, Medlar and Apple in the Small Orchard. Apples (eaters, cookers and cider) can be found in the Large Orchard.

We will have plenty of apple pies this year!
A garden volunteer using a long tools to gather apples form the top of a tree in the orchard
We will have plenty of apple pies this year!

Unique trees

One tree in the Large Orchard was unproductive. To avoid removing the tree altogether and as something of an experiment, our head gardener Dan successfully grafted 12 different varieties of apple on this one tree. See if you can spot it on your next visit.