Entrance to Reeves Orchard, Bratton

Image: © Penny Mayes Taken: 17 Oct 2015

On the north side of the combe is a community orchard containing several varieties of apple trees, many of which are marked by the name of the variety, the name of who planted it and the date of planting. When I first saw this notice board I assumed it was a recent community venture but the earliest dates I noticed were in the 1930s. The land was owned by the Reeves family who ran the ironworks and foundry in Bratton. The allotments on the upper slope are made on the bases of the hothouses that supplied the family with out of season fruits and vegetables. The pump house and pumps that drew water from the stream to supply the hothouses, are situated in the orchard but are not open to the public. In 1936 a mixed orchard of 146 trees was planted. There are a number of different varieties of apples, including: Green Bramley, Ellisons Orange, Laxton's Superb, Newton Wonder, Scarlet Bramley, Charles Ross, Peacemaker, Cox's Orange Pippin, James Grieve and Heron Pippin, and several varieties of Damson trees. The orchard was gifted to the village in 1988, and lay dormant and heavily overgrown for some years prior to the Parish Council's Conservation Management Plan in 1998. More details of their planned management of the area here http://web.archive.org/web/20150504205740/http://www.brattonvillage.co.uk/localhistory-Reeves_Community_Orchard_Project_Bratton.htm

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