Future of first Bramley apple tree in doubt as cottage where it stands is sold | UK news
Bramley apples are a staple in UK supermarkets and it all started in a house in Nottinghamshire. However, the future of the original fruit-bearing tree is now in question after the garden where it was located was sold by Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
The news left campaigners aiming to turn it into a heritage site “stunned”.
More than 200 years old, the tree was the first Bramley tree, from which millions of saplings have been grown worldwide. It was planted by Mary Ann Brailsford in the garden of her parents’ home in Church Street, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, between 1809 and 1815.
Artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, who unveiled the images of the tree in 2024, co-founded a campaign to buy the cottage from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and provide public access to the tree by turning it into a heritage site and an educational facility for tourists.
On Friday Llywelyn Hall was informed by the university that the garden where “Sister Bramley” lived had been privately purchased by the owners of the neighboring cottage.
Campaigners raised £14,000 from more than 320 donations worldwide.
Llywelyn Hall said: “It’s a very sad day for our ancient heritage trees. All institutions have failed and ironically Nottingham Trent University, an environmental and agricultural union, has done so. We are all stunned.”
In an email to the Guardian, he added that “careless selling would turn the tree into an interesting backyard curiosity” and said: “NTU has acted irresponsibly and washed its hands of a tree that was on death row 10 years ago.”
“I was hoping we’d see a dignified final chapter for Mother Bramley. We’ve all failed,” he said.
The university said it was supporting the ancient tree’s new custodians with advice on how to care for it.
An NTU spokesman said: “We are pleased that custody of the tree has been transferred to the owners of the neighboring property, Bramley Tree Cottage.
“Joshua and Alicia Wheatley approached NTU to express their interest in purchasing the garden where the tree is located and their determination to continue to care for and celebrate the tree and its legacy.
“The university is now supporting the new custodians with advice on how to care for Bramley, which is well past its natural life.
“NTU has also taken steps to devolve the garden, which will include certain obligations, to ensure the ongoing care, protection and maintenance of Bramley and maintain public access to events.
“The university-owned cottage, previously used for student accommodation, remains listed for sale.”
Almost 50 years after Brailsford planted the tree in the cottage garden, a 17-year-old boy named Henry Merryweather encountered a gardener carrying some of the apples and asked where they were grown.
By this time, the orchard containing the apple tree belonged to a butcher named Matthew Bramley, who allowed the youth to cut down the “Bramley Seedling” before the fruit became a staple in cooking.
The Bramley apple has become one of the UK’s most popular cooking apples, with over 300 Bramley growers in the UK and around 83,000 tonnes grown annually in the UK.
