A campaign has been launched to preserve the very first Bramley apple tree — the mother of all Bramley apples so beloved today.
Aged over 200 years, the Mother Bramley Apple Tree stands at Bramley Tree Cottage in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, the birthplace of the iconic British cooking apple.
It remains the original ancestor of every Bramley apple grown around the world today and represents a unique part of Britain’s rural heritage.
However, the prospective sale of the property by Nottingham Trent University puts the tree at risk, campaigners fear, as a new owner may not be able to provide the specialist care it requires.
The Mother Bramley suffers from an incurable fungal infection, which has weakened the tree, but it still produces blossom and could have many years ahead.
The Mother Bramley Fund (MBF) is appealing for funds to buy the site and create a heritage attraction for visitors, as well as an educational facility.
“Our project aims to help preserve the tree and its historic setting through long-term conservation, restoration, and carefully managed heritage open days for future generations,” said Joshua Wheatley.
Mary Ann Brailsford, a young girl who lived at the cottage, planted the tree from a pip between 1809 and 1815. Its apple was later named after Matthew Bramley, a subsequent owner of the house, and was first sold commercially in 1876 by the horticulturalist Henry Merryweather.
Merryweather cultivated grafts from the original tree, and the cooking apple grew in popularity until it became known as the “King of Covent Garden”. It is now known and sold all over the world, with 300 UK growers harvesting more than 83,000 tonnes of Bramley apples each year.
The Mother Bramley Fund campaign is supported by Merryweather’s great-granddaughter Celia Stevens, the singer and musician Cerys Matthews, and the artist Dan Llywelyn Hall.
