IRDP and Tangwystl Cottage present: the history of my heritage tree

in #blog6 years ago (edited)

The human history behind my apple tree.

Two years ago I invested in heritage fruit trees being offered by the South Coast Environment Centre (Riverton, NZ) to plant here at Tangwystl Cottage, with two of them being apple varieties. As I scrolled down the list, trying to make my selection, I noticed in some of the brief descriptions there were references to the apples’ origins (if known); and I saw places with which I could make familial connections to, and so I decided that I really liked the idea of planting a tree that had an historical link to the same village as that of my ancestors.

One of the apple tree varieties I chose, based on that premise, was the Lady Sudeley as it had its origins in Petworth (Sussex, England). (Or so it seemed, but I’ve since found out this isn’t true!).

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(photo by me)

This was the original blurb about the apple variety, given by the SCEC:


image source

Recently, as I checked on the progress of the fruit trees, I thought it would be an interesting exercise (combining my love of research with my love of genealogy and my desire to hold heritage plants at the cottage) to track down the history of the man who ‘invented’ the Lady Sudeley apple variety; and approached the task as I would any other genealogical puzzle with no real familial facts – I Googled him.

There was little to go on, except his surname and that he had moved from Kent to Sussex at some point, and that the apple had originally been named the Jacobs Strawberry. Little came up in searches, and what scant information there was seemed to be quite anecdotal in nature.

So I then turned to the Ancestry website database, to look through the census records for any Jacob male who was listed as having been born in Kent (although unconfirmed) and then living in Petworth. And there was one! After further digging, and finding confirmation in someone else’s tree; and then doing another Google search using this new information, I was satisfied that this was indeed the right person.

Please meet Mr Jacob.

His basic details:
JACOB, William
bap: 24 Nov 1819, Lyminge Kent
died: 27 Mar 1895, Petworth Sussex
married: Jul-Sep 1853, Medway Kent
spouse: ROCKLIFFE, Sarah Ann
children: yes (but I didn't need to find out about them)

William's baptism entry:


the transcription:
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His death transcription – note the slight misspelling of his surname:

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In the 1841 census for Lyminge, Kent, where William was born, it shows he’d already left home; but it also shows that his father was a farmer (as had been stated in the above baptismal record):

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and on another page in the same census, his grandfather (also a William) was an agricultural labourer – even at his advanced age of 75!
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On the 1851 census William was head of his household which included a sister who kept house for him, in Chatham, Kent, and his listed occupation was ‘farm bailiff’. The census shows that he is living on Sharsted Farm:

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On the 1861 census he (was married) and his family were now living in Petworth, Sussex. He listed his occupation as that of a ‘sheep doctor’:

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By the 1871 census, the family were still living in Petworth, but he was now listed as being a ‘naturalist’:

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On the 1881 census, again still in Petworth, he had become a ‘market gardener’:

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(Again, note the slight misspelling of his surname - this wasn't an unusual thing to see so we have to be open-minded during our research.)

It was reported in the Petersfield Express, 23 Sep 1879, at the Vegetable, Fruit, Flower, and Poultry Show, that amongst other entries, William Jacob won first place for his plate of twelve apples – although we are not told whether the Jacobs Strawberry was part of his submission into this competition.



source: British Newspaper Archives

On that same day it was reported he'd won prize money for his entries in other categories, such as poultry, spring onions, potatoes, pears, and mixed selections. I would imagine the competition at these shows to be just as fiercely competitive as they are today so he'd done pretty well.

George Bunyard, the man who would rename the Jacobs Strawberry to its more commonly-known name of Lady Sudeley, had a nursery in Allington, Kent from which he supplied trees to the royal Kew Gardens. Notice on the page it makes prominent reference to his ‘royal appointment’. This was a great honour to receive.

Bunyard tree catalogue 1899.jpg
image source

Digging deep had finally yielded me a snippet of information which confirmed my research in the right man, and how the apple had come to change hands (and name):

the new book of apples by joan morgan.JPG
image source

I was pleased that I had undertaken such an exercise, and discovered more about the man behind the apple, and while I now know it doesn't have any direct ties to the home of my ancestors it still has a good story and a great heritage.

And this is what the Lady Sudely looks like:


image source

A very pretty, and tasty-looking apple and I cannot wait until my own tree produces a bounty for us to enjoy here at the cottage.


Just out of interest, here's a few more snippets of related information:

Sudeley Castle, as it is today.
sudeleycastle.jpg
"Adorning a broad fertile vale in the Gloucestershire village of Winchcombe, Sudeley Castle—now home to its chatelaine, Lady Ashcombe—had its beginnings as a 10th-century Saxon manor."
image source
Apparently Queen Elizabeth I visited there several times during her reign; and King Henry VIII's sixth wife, Catherine Parr is buried in the chapel there.

"1856: Sudeley Castle was inherited by the Dent’s nephew John Coucher Dent who had married Emma Brocklehurst, daughter of John Brocklehurst, one of Macclesfield’s first MPs and head of the family’s successful silk milling business." source
It appears that it is Emma who was the driving force behind the restoration and improvement of the Sudeley Castle estate, and likely the woman for whom the Lady Sudeley apple is named.
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Emma
image source


Resources:
http://www.sces.org.nz/store/doc/Scionwood-list-2015.pdf

http://www.myjacobfamily.com/folkestonejacobs/fo-williamjacob4.htm

http://www.gardenappleid.co.uk/index.php/alphabetic-list-of-apples/65-lady-sudeley

http://www.cooksinfo.com/lady-sudeley-apples

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=b7b3XsV8-zgC&pg=RA11-PR100&lpg=RA11-PR100&dq=%27sharsted+farm%27+chatham+kent&source=bl&ots=YfJU74WTRm&sig=izp5_lzaX-uu-7tQ8yDM_nHHqNs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbjcXhmuLXAhWBTrwKHdI7DFwQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudeley_Castle


If you are interested in your own family history and want some help, I work for Steem & SBD. Check out my biz post here.

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(extra tags: #garden #organicgardening #selfsufficiency #newzealand #homesteading #fruit #heritage #lifestyle #food #nobidbot #ancestry)

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I'm super glad people like you do things like this so people like me can read about things they never knew they were curious about til they came up and don't have to do the associated research ourselves XD

lolol why thank you, it was my pleasure! :D

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Wonderful history on your heritage apple tree! I'm impressed with the amount of info you were able to uncover. I'm sure you will re-tell this tree's history many times to visitors at your cottage. We visit our local farmers market which has some great heritage apples and pears. Great post @ravenruis

Thank you. :)

What I'd like to figure out is how best to display some info on each tree I have so I can tell at a glance its name, needs, basic background etc. Perhaps I'll turn my backyard into a botanical museum, lol.

It really is good to know there are people out there offering the heritage fruits & veges for sale - without their diversity so much would be lost, and there would be such a great decrease in the genetic strength of the plants left. (Same with animals, etc) So much has dropped away in favour of the more commercially convenient lines.

That post you did about the Wellington settlers was great too.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it/them.

Awesome photo! Bullock train, wow. Do you know what year it was taken? And on which street?

This is such an interesting post. You've done such a great job tracking down the history of your trees. I wonder if Mr William Jacob would have ever believed he'd being mentioned in this way!

The apples do look delicious, I bet you can't wait to get some fruit on the trees.

Thanks! I hadn't stopped to think about Mr Jacob's thoughts on being immortalised this way, lol. I do hope he doesn't mind. :D

I know it'll take a few years before the trees are well-established, so I wish I'd done it a lot sooner. I've just ordered another lot of trees to pick up next month from Riverton too. Can't wait ... don't know quite where I'll put them though ... lolol.

What a cool thing to have done! I can’t say I have ever been as fascinated by heirloom varieties as much as I am now! Hang on, are heritage and heirloom similar??

Similar, but there are points of difference which I cannot remember off the top of my head.

Mind blowing work, I am astounded :O

Can you dig up who is behind the haejin account aswell please? :P

I'm good, not a miracle worker. :P

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