Apples & People explores the astonishing story of the apple, connecting its diverse history to humanity and culture. Based upon a newly commissioned global map of the apple which traces a network of stories from the ancient world to the present day, this online programme and associated social media will reveal just how significant and iconic this humble fruit has become.
Gnarley applewood, not just a supporting act for fruit, has hidden depths which can be traced back through history, folklore and art.
In our latest Apple Story, we investigate many of the uses that humankind has made of applewood, including fine carving, musical instruments and for woodblock printing.
We are delighted to unveil a new Apples & People commission by artist and wood carver Ben Homer, who has made an oversized Golden Delicious apple pip using a piece of dead applewood from a Herefordshire Orchard that was bequeathed to the Museum of Cider by Susan Bulmer.
Four crabapple species grow in North America.
The Pacific crabapple, Malus fusca, grows on the western coast and has more genetic similarity to the wild apples of China than to the other American crabapples that grow in the east, suggesting spread of Malus fusca across a land corridor from origins in China.
Growing on the edge of water, this apple has particular significance for the Indigenous People who for centuries have lived along Canada’s western shore.
‘Pacific Crabapple: Food, Tools, Medicine and Magic‘ investigates how the First Nations Peoples of Canada have used fruit and wood of the Pacific crabapple.
Our newest Apple Story ‘The Tale of William Tell‘ is the familiar story and imagery of William Tell.
On 18th November 1307, Albrecht Gessler, the local steward of the Habsburg Duke, put a Habsburg cap on a pole in the market square of Altdorf, and proclaimed that everyone passing should bow to the hat. But not everyone complied with his proclamation….
The Apples & People Commission ‘Tell, Herefordshire’, by photographer Gabriella Karney, works with themes from the Tale of William Tell – trust, fortitude, family, and of course the apple and arrow. Gabriella captures some of Herefordshire’s apple growing families amongst their own apple trees.
In 2015, seventeen Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations to help steer collective world action towards a more sustainable future. They also designated 2021 as International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.
This new Apple Story looks at some of these Goals, alongside our need to stay healthy by eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
Our newest Apple Story ‘The Golden Trail‘ tells of a remarkable journey for the world’s most important apple chance seedling made by Stark Bro’s Nurseries & Orchards Co. of Louisiana, Missouri USA.
The story of the Golden Delicious apple is incredible – almost the stuff of fantasy. A chance tree, a chance find, and the rest is history.
To celebrate this story we have an Apples & People Commission ‘The Most Valuable Golden Apple Tree In The World’ by Sara-Jane Arbury.
A poetic retelling of the tale from the point of view of the lone tree growing these “wonder apples” on a hillside in West Virginia, and its subsequent discovery by the Stark brothers.
Apples at the Museum of Cider, Hereford by Christopher Preece www.infinityunlimited.co.uk
Gillian Bulmer was a long-serving trustee of the Museum and generous benefactor. Compiled with the help of fruit growers and cider makers in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wales, the exhibition features over 360 plates of fruit.
Perhaps for the first time ever, a 360° interactive virtual tour of this fruit exhibition has been created using 3D technology so that we can share this exhibition with people around the world.
So we invite you to step into the Museum of Cider to explore the exhibition for yourself.
Our newest Apple Story ‘When Doctor Hogg went to Hereford’ celebrates the Victorians who had a key role in developing apple production in Herefordshire.
Apples grow in abundance around the world. On 14th October 1875, an exhibition of apples and pears was held in Hereford that was the beginning of a process to identify, classify, commercialise, and popularise apples.
This Apple Story tells of the relationship between Dr Robert Hogg and Rev Charles Bulmer, the work of Herefordshire’s Woolhope Club to produce the magnificent ‘Herefordshire Pomona’, and the Royal Horticultural Society’s expansive National Apple Congress in 1883.
It has been compiled with help from Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, the Royal Horticultural Society, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Royal Bath & West of England Society.
Anne Rook - Golden Delicious 4021. Part of Golden Delicious series 2002 © the artist
Detail from the Herefordshire Pomona watercolours on display at the Museum of Cider in Hereford, which are on loan from H P Bulmer Limited Photograph by Paul Ligas
Underground Root Laboratory 2013 © NIAB EMR
Apple loading at Port Nelson 19 20s © Nelson Provincial Museum - Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao, F N Jones Collection 311092
Frederic Leighton - Garden of Hesperides (1892) © Courtesy National Museums Liverpool, Lady Lever Art GalleryFollow us on social media:
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The Apple: Served Three Ways
Home, JournalA taste of apples through time, with three historical recipes tried, tested and adapted for the contemporary kitchen by food historian Tasha Marks.
Apples & Pears in Hereford
Home, JournalThe Museum of Cider in Hereford has curated an exhibition of apples and pears in honour of Gillian Bulmer (1935-2021). Compiled with the help of fruit growers and cider makers in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wales, the exhibition features over 360 plates of fruit.
The Chosen Fruit
Home, JournalIn poetry and literature the apple is often a microcosm of our own existence – often mapping the seasons, the taste of youth, the ripening of age.
The Health Benefits of Apples
Home, JournalPeople who eat more fruit have a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, dementia and depression – by Dr Nicola Bondonno from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia.
Xincai Tan
Home, JournalWritten by Xincai Tan, ‘Píng Guǒ Shì Jiè’ tells of the domestic apple originating in the Tian Shan, the Heavenly Mountains on China’s western border, and spreading around the world from east to west.