Some Orchard Activities In The North During The Early C20

           Agricultural colleges played a prominent role in the planting and assessment  of apple and pear varieties at various sites in the north of England from early Edwardian times. We have well- documented evidence of the activities carried out by Newton Rigg College at chosen experimental sites at Brampton, Abbeytown and Wiggonby - enough material for a future article!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  However, I wanted to discover more about Mr A.G.Sowman who introduced Sowman’s Seedling apple at Hutton near Preston in 1914. This was difficult, as Hutton Agricultural College closed in the 1990’s and much archive material appears to have been lost in the transfer of activities to Myerscough. Fortunately, old  articles in the Preston Guardian weekly newspaper have revealed some  valuable information, not only about the man himself, but also about fruit varieties grown and recommended during a period from 1900-1923.

        Records show that Alexander  Sowman was born in Suffolk in 1860. He was appointed horticulture instructor at the County Council Farm at Hutton in 1911. During the war years the department was instrumental in teaching village children in 100 school gardens to grow vital foodstuffs , with emphasis on “the stern necessity of intensive cultivation”. Sowman was in great demand for expert advice from fruit growers and in this role he was “constantly peregrinating the county”. At Hutton, planting beds were laid out for fruit trees and various experiments conducted and observations made concerning  the use of Paradise and Crab rootstock, pruning techniques; the efficacy of manures and artificial fertilizer . Thirty- three varieties of apples were  grafted on to both  rootstocks, many of which fruits are well-known to N.F.G. members, but some “ less  familiar” ones were planted, including Domino, Betty Geeson, Schoolmaster, Hambling’s Seedling and Gloria Mundi. Sowman noted that the last named was carrying magnificent clusters of apples on both Paradise and Crab stock; Winter Greening , Schoolmaster and Wealthy were also performing well in 1916. Two years later Sowman could say that Worcester Pearmain, Lane’s Prince Albert and Manks Codlin justified their inclusion in the orchard and that pear variety Dr. Jules Guyot   was well- suited to the climate of Lancashire.

     In 1918, another three acres of adjoining land were commissioned for the testing of several Canadian apple varieties, but sadly, no names are available. Sowman had approval from the County Agricultural Sub-committee to approach landowners with the aim of establishing stations of about half an acre at different altitudes to ascertain the suitability of varieties in various districts. On the trial grounds Bramley’s Seedling, Lane’s Prince Albert, Grenadier, Worcester Pearmain and Allington Pippin would form the basis of a permanent orchard and other varieties planted to test for adaptability. Some of these others were Scottish, but again no variety details are known. It was intended that these experimental sites should be in North and South Londsdale, Grimsargh, Chipping and at Read, on Sir John Thursby’s estate near Burnley .I have not been able to find out whether  the above locations were ever used with the exception of  Chipping. At a site long since abandoned close to the Trough of Bowland, Proctor’s Seedling , a local apple , was grown amongst the “standard” varieties.

      In 1923 Sowman delivered a lecture, the” Story of Some Lancashire Apples”( and others)with details about Scotch Bridget, Proctor’s Seedling, Lord Suffield , Minchall Crab and a missing variety, Livsey’s Codlin.” The trees of this last named apple were chiefly found in the Leyland and Ulnes Walton district…” In his travels Sowman had found “two remarkable trees of Bess Pool growing within twenty yards of the rise and fall of the tide on the north-west Lancashire coast”. He had high praise for the qualities of Ribston Pippin. A bizarrely named local Lancashire apple variety, “Bang all Europe” is mentioned in the talk, but it lacked quality as a cooker or eater!

        Other interesting variety  information emerged from newspaper research during the period between 1900 and 1923, including the planting of apple Northern Dumpling which appears to have Belgian origins ; a recommendation for Yat  pear which was first raised in Holland in the 1760’s; written confirmation of the existence of local pear Walton Weeper  and an intriguing mystery concerning a culinary apple called Livsey’s Imperial, “raised by the late Mr Livsey of Golden Hill, Leyland.” Livsey’s Imperial is a synonym for both Lord Suffield and Hollandbury, but Mr Livsey’s apple is neither of these. The article states that this apple was so greasy that it had to be grown outside Leyland as sooty deposits from nearby works  “rendered it unsaleable.” Coincidentally , I have a “mystery” apple called Jenny Lind (named after the Swedish singer from Victorian times), described by a farmer from the Leyland area as being “ so greasy that dust stuck to it”. The sole surviving tree was in an orchard west of Preston. Simon Clark can testify to the fragility of the tree when we visited the orchard three or four years ago!

I am sure that much more material will emerge from the archives; I have yet to discover information about Alexander Sowman’s later life.


Article for Northern Fruit Group magazine.