| Where: | Southwell, Nottinghamshire at the Minster, Library, Market Square and town centre, with the Original Tree at 75 Church Street |
| When: | A Saturday in mid to late October |
| Time: | Minster 10 am-3.30 pm, Crowning & Prize Giving 3pm, Tree 11 am-3pm |
The Bramleys Seedling cooking apple is one of the most celebrated fruit varieties of all time, and it all began in Southwell in Nottinghamshire. The original tree was grown in the back garden of a cottage on Church Street, from a pip planted by a little girl called Mary Ann Brailsford; in the mid nineteenth century Henry Merryweather, a local nurseryman, realised that the fruit of the tree was especially fine and he arranged with the owner of the property to grow and sell saplings from cuttings taken from the tree. By this time the resident was Matthew Bramley and he agreed to the deal as long as the variety was named after him, and so Bramley’s Seedling came into being. The unique qualities of the Bramley ensured its success so that by the mid twentieth century, a third of all commercial apple trees grown in Britain were all descended from this single tree. Today the tree still stands despite its venerable years (most apple trees have a life span of around 60 years but this one must be over 200, and it isn’t in the best of health) and it may be visited as part of the festival which has grown up in its honour. A large fair takes place inside the Minster with stalls selling many varieties of food and drink, many naturally apple-themed, as well as saplings of the tree and crafts. Cookery demonstrations take place at intervals, and a huge display off different varieties of apples (and a few pears) is available for identification purposes, and to demonstrate just how many named apples are grown in the country as well as the Bramley. In addition, the crowning of the Apple King and Queen and associated dignitaries takes place in the Library during the afternoon, who are the winners of fancy dress and baking competitions arranged prior to the big day in local primary schools, and the prize for the best Apple Pie which is open to all ages. All around town there are themed window displays- look out for the certificates awarded to the winners.
Helpful Hints
The festival takes place each October during apple harvest season- in 2025 it was on Saturday 25th October. 2026 date is yet to be confirmed but likely to be 24th- full details should appear in due course on the Minster links below.
The Original Bramley Apple Tree is now in the care of Nottingham Trent University; staff relate the history of the tree in the garden, and when we visited there were individual servings of delicious apple sauce made form the fruit for us to sample.
The main Festival of Food and Drink is inside Southwell Minster for a modest suggested entrance donation of £3 (look out for the Bramley Apple window on the North side of the Crossing, and the apple flag flying on the Tower outside!) with additional stalls in the Market Square off King Street. We managed to spot juice, cider, turnovers, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, sausages, shortbread, cakes, pies and Apple Chunk sweets, all with that essential ingredient and most of which we sampled!
The Crowning takes place inside Southwell Library, and children’s crafts are available during the day. The nearby Workhouse, a National Trust property, also has apple themed talks and activities, and a pop-up choir.
Click here for the Minster Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SouthwellMinster
and website: https://www.southwellminster.org
Click here for Southwell Library: https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/reading-information/find-a-library/southwell-library/
Click here for The Workhouse: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/nottinghamshire-lincolnshire/the-workhouse-and-infirmary
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