Southwell’s annual Bramley Apple Festival returns this weekend

Festivities celebrating the humble beginnings of an iconic apple return this weekend.

Southwell will once again host the Bramley Apple Festival, on Saturday, October 26, with entertainment around the town.

The festival, now in its 31st year, celebrates the Bramley cooking apple, first grown in the town from a pip planted by Mary Ann Brailsford in the early 19th century.

It has now become a worldwide favourite — having built strong links between the Southwell and Japan, where it is considered a delicacy, and the latest nation to honour the apple was Northern Ireland.

Back in 1884, a family called Nicholson bought 60 young Bramley Apple trees grown in Southwell by Henry Merryweather to plant in Northern Ireland.

Recently, Henry’s great-grandson Roger Merryweather, was invited to plant a tree at Armagh in Northern Ireland.

“Those 60 trees were to start the major growth of Bramley Apples in Northern Ireland,” said Colonel Roger Merryweather, chairman of Southwell’s annual Bramley Apple Festival.

“The young tree that I planted at this commemoration event was grown by Nottingham Trent University with material taken from the original Bramley Apple Tree in Church Street, Southwell.

“The whole event was filmed by the BBC. The film highlighted how many orchards there are in Armagh and that many of these orchards contain Bramleys.”

There will also be a chance to see the original tree, at 75-77 Church Street, which is now owned by Nottingham Trent University, between 11am and 3pm on the day of the festival.

Adding to its significance, the tree was also one of seventy ancient trees included in the Queen’s Green Canopy for the Platinum Jubilee.

As usual, Southwell Minster will host an apple-themed food and drink fair, with dozens of stallholders to set up shop in the cathedral.

They will offer all manner of food and drink including pies, chocolates, jams, chutneys, pickles, sausages, and more.

The popular demo kitchen will be back, with expert foodies on hand to give free cookery demonstrations, co-ordinated by Teresa Bovey.

Apple expert Paul Barnett will also be on hand with a massive display of 300 to 350 different varieties of apple, and ready to answer any apple-related questions or help visitors identify their own apples.

Entry is a £3 suggested donation, and the food and drink fair runs from 10am to 3.30pm.

The nearby National Trust Workhouse and Infirmary will also be celebrating the fruit, with a series of fun, free activities from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

It will host a longest apple peel competition, as well as apple printing — and there will be a variety of apple-themed prizes throughout the day.

There will also be performances from the pauper’s pop-up choir.

Meanwhile, at Southwell Library, there will be children’s crafts all day long, and the judging of the Bramley Apple Pie baking competition.

At 3pm, the Bramley Apple King, Queen, Prince, and Princess will be crowned, and awards handed out for the pie competition.

The fruity festivities will spill out of the venues and across the town, where shop windows have been aptly decorated with Bramley-themed displayed, and festival-goers should look out for a variety of apple drinks and dishes in the town’s eateries.

“This will be a great day for the town, and we would like to thank all our sponsors and the many volunteers who make this event such a success each year,” added Roger Merryweather.