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

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!).

(photo by me)

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

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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:

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

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!

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.

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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

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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:

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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.

"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."
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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.

Emma
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