pples probably arose in the Caucusus, Turkestan, and adjoining areas, where wild apples (Malus silvestris and Malus pumila) still grow. Natural hybridisation betweem M. pumila and M. silvestris gave rise to edible (non-sour) apples similar to modern forms, without the intervention of people. Apples then spread throughout the fertile crescent (Persia, Caspian Sea to Turkey, Palestine and Egypt). The first written account of an apple orchard is found in The Odyssey (written 900-800 BC). Varro (116-27 BC) wrote on the propogation of apples and described their storage, including the construction of an apple store. Pliny (first century AD) described how farmers would auction the fruit on the trees, a practice still carried out in some Kent orchards.

     alus silvestris grew wild in Britain in Neolithic times, evidence for its use as food has been found at the Windmill Hill site in Wiltshire. However, there is no evidence that there was any attempt to cultivate the trees. Druids are believed to have planted apple trees near sacred oak groves but these probably served as hosts for mistletoe which was very important to the Druids. Traces of apples dating to Roman times have also been found in Bermondsey and Doncaster. During the period of the Roman invasion of Britain, army veterans were given settlements on which to grow fruits (as an inducement to stay), and thus apple orchards were introduced into Britain.

 ollowing the Roman occupation there were waves of invasions of Britain by the Jutes, Saxons, and Danes. This led to abandonment of the orchards. When Christianity was re-established in England (in Kent in AD 597 by St. Augustin) orchards were established in monasteries. The monasteries housed both men and women and were self-sufficient. Despite repeated Viking attacks the majority survived. The monastery at Ely (Cambridgeshire) was particularly famous for its orchards and vineyards. A manuscript (circa 1165) of part of the plan of the garden of Christ Church monastery in Canterbury shows a pomerium, an apple garden, consisting of apples and pears for eating and apples for cider making. Similarly in 1275 Battle Abbey in Somerset records the sale of cider to the public.

 he Norman Conquest of 1066 brought the most profound changes to apple growing in Britain. Not least of these changes was the replacement of the Church establishment by French-speaking Normans. The Normans had a strong tradition of apple growing and cider making. They introduced many apple types to Britain, the first recorded of which were the Pearmain and the Costard. The Pearmain was particularly valued for cider making. The Pearmain (Old English Pearmain) was first recorded in 1204. The manor of Runham (Norfolk) had to pay to the Exchequer each year 200 Pearmains and 4 hogsheads of cider made from Pearmains. The Costard was first recorded in 1296 when 100 fruits were sold for 1 shilling. In 1325 29 Costard apple trees were recorded as having been sold for 3 shillings. The name Costard is preserved in the word costermonger, originally a seller of Costard apples.

   he Black Death and the Wars of the Roses led to a decline in fruit cultivation, but this decline was reversed by Henry VIII. In 1533, Richard Harris, fruiterer to the king, began a program of importation of apple trees from France, and apple growing underwent a large expansion. Harris planted a model orchard at Teynham which was used to distribute trees to other growers.

   pple orchards were extensively planted in Kent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The growing of apples was also well advanced in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire. The bulk of these apples was used for cider making. The building of canals in the late 18th century expanded the market for cider. By the end of the century it was estimated that 10,000 hogsheads (1 hogshead = 110 gallons) of cider were exported each year from Worcestershire alone.

 owards the end of the 18th century the quality of fruit crops declined because of canker and also because of poor orchard management. Cider orchards declined in Herefordshire as it became more profitable to farm wheat and cattle. Protection of the fruit market during the Napoleonic Wars, and high tariffs on imported fruit after the wars led to an expansion of new orchard planting in the 1820s and 1830s. The lowering of these tariffs in 1837 caused a collapse in the apple market. This led to Kent apple growers turning their cooking apples into cider which was of such poor quality that there were generalised protests. The situation continued until 1870 when industrialisation of the country led to increased per capita income and fruits once again became profitable.

    uring the decline of apple production the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club decided to undertake a survey of the Herefordshire orchards. They appointed Dr. Robert Hogg to undertake the survey. Hogg was already well know having been the secretary of the short-lived (1854-1864), but influential British Pomological Society. The survey was published between 1876 and 1885 as the Illustrated Herefordshire Pomona. The club distributed grafts of 92 different apple varieties and successfully revived old valued cider apples such as the Foxwhelph and Skyme's Kernel. The club also visited Rouen in 1884 and selected Normandy apple varieties for introduction into Herefordshire. These include Medaille d'Or and Michelin which are still grown today

   scientific approach to fruit growing first resulted from the establishment of the Royal Horticultural Society. The first centre devoted to fruit experiments was the Woburn Experimental Fruit Farm, a private establishment set up in 1894 by the Duke of Bedford and Spencer Pickering. This also had a limited existence. In 1903 the fruit research station was established at Long Ashton, Bristol, as the National Fruit and Cider Institute. Following amalgamation with the University of Bristol in 1912 this became the Long Ashton Research Station. In 1913 a second site was opened in Kent, the East Malling Research Station. At the end of 1986 the Pomology Division of the Long Ashton Research Station was transferred to the AFRC Institute of Horticultural Research (the East Malling Research Station) and the cider research was transferred to the AFRC Institute of Food Research at Norwich and Reading. The Long Ashton site was sold and is now owned by a private cider making firm. Trees from the unique collection are now propogated at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley, and the National Fruit Collection at the Brogdale Horticultural Trust in Kent.

  pple growing is presently a much smaller industry than in the past. In 1877 there were 23,000 acres of apples in Devon, 22,000 in Herefordshire, 21,000 in Somerset, 9,000 in Worcestershire, 8,000 in Gloucestershire, and 6,000 in Kent. By 1979 the acreage of cider apples in Herefordshire and Worcestershire taken together was only just over 6,000.