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Traditional Orchards in the Lower Tees Valley

Traditional Orchards have been a feature of the English landscape for centuries. They are generally described as consisting of large fruit trees grown on vigorous rootstocks planted at low densities on permanent grassland. At one time most farms had an orchard to supply the household with a variety of fruits. Country manors and estates would also keep an extensive orchard and some areas of the country had large commercial orchards, making orchards a common sight within the landscape.

Fruit growing in the Lower Tees Valley has followed that of the wider country. Traditional commercial orchards were plentiful in the 19th century with villages such as Egglescliffe, Norton and East Hartburn surrounded by fields of fruit trees. The fruit was produced to feed the growing urban population and was mostly sold in local shops and markets. These commercialorchards have now been lost, through the expanding urban populations need for more housing and also the changes in fruit growing in Britain, as more fruit was imported. The last orchard in Norton was destroyed in 1984, but until as recently as the 1960s apples were sold at a local shop from its orchards at the back. Remnants of some of these orchards can still be found in domestic gardens.

Traditional orchards were also important as part of the fruit and vegetable gardens of local manors and country houses. The Victorians were very keen fruit growers, and the display of fresh fruits on the dinner table was a measure of a gentleman’s wealth. Most large country houses had an orchard and this can be seen locally on old maps, for example, Marton Hall, Ormesby Hall, Acklam Hall, Kirklevington Hall, all had large orchards. The orchards at Crathorne Hall, Upleatham Hall and Skelton Castle are still present, though many of their trees have been lost.

Most farms used to have their own orchard that provided the family with produce both for selling and for their own use. The farmer’s wife would preserve the fruit by bottling it in syrup or making jams and chutneys. Many of these traditional, old farm orchards are still present in the Lower Tees Valley today and contain old varieties of apple and pear such as Beauty of Bath, Egremont Russet, Lord Derby, Keswick Codlin and the pear Hessle. These orchards have usually occupied the same site for over 150 years and are present on the first edition ordnance survey maps of the 1850s.

Traditional orchards are hotspots for biodiversity, particularly as they often occupy the same piece of land for centuries and are managed without the use of chemicals. They contain a mosaic of different habitats including fruit trees (old and young), veteran trees, hedgerows, non fruit trees, grassland, ponds and various nectar sources. These provide food, shelter and potential breeding sites for many different species. The range of ages of the fruit trees is also important, especially the presence of old trees with cracked bark, cavities and holes in the tree trunk, standing deadwood and deadwood in the canopy.

Unfortunately, as with much wildlife habitat, traditional orchards are under threat across the whole of the UK. The area of orchard habitat across England has declined by more than 60% since the 1950s and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) now includes traditional orchards in its list of priority habitats.

The Wildflower Ark co-ordinated a fifteen month project, ‘Traditional Orchards in the Lower Tees Valley’, funded through a grant from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The aim of the project was to research the history of fruit growing in the Lower Tees Valley, increase public awareness of local orchards and their heritage and biodiversity value and run a pilot education programme on orchards for schools.

Activities included

Researching the history of fruit growing in the Lower Tees Valley through Ordnance Survey Maps, personal communications with local history and community groups/individuals and local history information held in public libraries, archives and record offices.
Locating and surveying orchards still present today including identifying, where possible, the old varieties of fruit being grown. Information on 27 local sites was sent for inclusion on the National Inventory of Traditional Orchards being compiled by the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species.
Providing a series of workshops, held in the community orchards at Nature’s World, to help increase skills in orchard management and fruit tree care within the local community to aid the restoration and management of local orchards.
Planting old heritage varieties of apple trees within the Nature’s World gardens with information on the local history of fruit growing and the biodiversity value of orchards and a ‘fruit growing trail’ leaflet to provide learning based activities related to the orchards.
A pilot schools programme working with six local schools and providing one day of in-school learning on local fruit and fruit growing (with resources for Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2) and a small orchard in each of the schools.