History

A history of cider making in Britain

Roman occupation

There has been a long, colorful history of ‘farmhouse style’ cider production in Kent. This tradition dates back over 2000 years. When the romans first landed on the Kent shoreline in 55BC there was already a well established cider making tradition in place.

When the Romans arrived they were reported to have found local Kentish villagers drinking a delicious cider like beverage made from apples.
How long they had been making this drink prior to the arrival of the Romans is unknown. Roman army veterans were given settlements on which to grow fruit as an inducement to stay, and thus apple orchards were introduced to Britain. Following the Roman occupation there were waves of invasions of Britain by the Jutes, Saxons, and Danes which led to abandonment of the orchards.

St. Augustin and the monastic cider 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. 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.

Henry VIII

The 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. (We are enourmously proud that two of the orchards we use are on this very orchard in Teynham).

Kent Orchards

Apple orchards were extensively planted in Kent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The bulk of these apples were used for cider making. English cider making peaked around the mid 17th century, when almost every farm had its own cider orchard and press. Cider regained its popularity during the 20th century, but demand was largely for the mass produced variety. I am glad to say that in the last few years there is a renewed interest in traditional, real cider, that has been and is still poorly imitated by the big name producers.