Orchards were once an integral part of the agriculture and heritage of the Gwent Levels.

Traditional Orchards on the Levels

Detailed OS maps from 1888 -1913 show us that most farms and small holdings had an orchard, some larger than others, and that overall this area produced a significant amount of fruit, comparable to that of the Somerset Levels and Herefordshire.

From historical accounts and records, such as wills, censuses, bills of sales and parish records, we can ascertain the importance of this crop. Much of the fruit was turned into cider and was used as part payment for migrant agricultural workers (the ‘truck system’). A general rule seems to have been: the better-quality cider produced, the better quality of worker attracted!

We also have accounts that show lists of trees, quantities of cider stored, and types of cider making equipment held. There was also a mobile cider press that travelled from farm to farm pressing the cider for those who didn’t possess their own equipment, as well as fruit canning machinery that was shared by local farmers. Living Levels has collected oral histories from scores of local people and many accounts attest to these practices up until the 1950s and 1960s.

Fruit from the farms was also taken to nearby villages, towns and markets and sold as a cash crop to subsidise farm incomes. In later years, fruit was transported to Herefordshire and processed into cider in large factories.

Different varieties of fruit trees produce fruit at different times of the season, so most orchards would hold a selection of varieties to extend the production time from late summer through into mid-winter. Some varieties will mature from cooking apples into eating apples and other varieties are perfect for storing; these would be stored in trays of sand and eaten throughout the late winter and into the next spring. 

It is interesting to note that orchards on the Levels were planted in a different manner to most other orchards. The planting technique links with the unique landscape and its network of waterways. Fields were traditionally drained using a grid of shallow surface ditches called ‘grips’. When excavated, the soil from the ditches was used to form raised ridges, creating a ridge and furrow effect. Fruit trees were then planted on the ridges to raise their roots out of the wet ground as much as possible.

A few orchards are located very close to the sea wall and the trees seem to be resilient to the salt air. They form micro habitat that supports a variety of invertebrates that would not normally be found this close to the sea.

Decline of Levels orchards

Over time the importance of orchards has waned for various reasons. A decisive moment seems to have been the 1887 Truck Amendment Act, which prohibited the part payment of labourers wages with food or drink.

After the war when food shortages were widespread throughout Britain, agricultural subsidies focused on achieving higher crop yields, particularly from cereals, and a lot of small-scale extensive production ceased to be commercially viable as a result. Increased levels of mechanisation in farming meant reduced labour on farms and the importance of cider as a crop declined.

Over time many traditional orchard skills and cider production techniques have been lost. Post second world war workers were more interested in cash payment. Tastes changed, moving away from traditional cider towards beer and commercially produced cider. Orchards were grubbed up, left to grow wild or just used as a paddock for stock and often over-grazed.

Orchards for wildlife

There has been an unintended shift in importance for orchards, from production of fruit with derived income to providing a sanctuary for diverse communities of plants and animals, often not found elsewhere.

Fallen fruit provides food for a variety of creatures such as birds, small mammals, and insects. Trees also provide shelter, nesting, roosting, and hiding places. As trees grow and age they offer a home to a whole community of saprophyte organisms and saproxylic invertebrates that feed exclusively on dead or decaying wood.

In more recent times, in the context of the global biodiversity crisis and climate emergencies, focus has turned to the importance of locally produced food, short-supply chains, and varieties that can withstand extreme weather conditions and pests, as well as safeguarding biodiversity and biological resources such as vital insects which are needed to pollinate crops. Traditional orchards offer the right habitats and production levels, especially across a landscape like the Gwent Levels, to help meet some of these new challenges.

Cultural heritage

Traditional Welsh varieties of fruit trees, such as Morgan Sweet, Birth Mawr, St. Cecilia, and Llanarth Early (Pear) - many of them rare and unique to local areas - are important for their heritage value as well as genetic diversity. Planting new trees and replacing those that have been lost is a vital part of conserving traditional orchards and protecting genetic diversity.

Living Levels Orchards’ project

Living Levels has been supporting orchard owners to restore and replenish the lost orchards of the Gwent Levels, safeguarding an important genetic resource and protecting the plants and animals that live within these sites – at least 25 orchards are also Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCS). 

Using historic maps to locate sites of orchards, a dedicated Living Levels Orchards Officer visited landowners across the Levels to ‘ground-truth’ these maps and find out which orchards are still standing and their condition. DNA samples have been taken to identify and map the varieties found in each orchard. Scion wood samples of some of the rarer varieties have also been grafted at a local nursery to safeguard and propagate this stock.

There has also been a planned programme of replanting with local varieties obtained from the Welsh Cider and Perry Association. So far, 174 trees have been planted at 29 orchards across the Levels, making them more sustainable and viable for the future. This is mainly in private orchards, but two publicly-accessible community orchards have been planted at Duffryn and Magor and Undy. In addition, orchards have been created at schools in Chepstow and St Mellons so that children can learn more about local food and heritage.

Some orchards that were in a very poor state have also been cut-back and pruned to make them more manageable. Management plans to maintain these orchards are being written to help landowners manage them in the future and training has been organised in pruning and maintenance to support this.

Whilst many orchards will continue to be used recreationally and for small-scale production of fruit juice and cider, a longer-term aspiration is for the revival of a fruit-sharing scheme enabling the commercial production of local ciders and fruit-juices that celebrates the fantastic orchard heritage of the Levels.

Help us to revive and celebrate the traditional orchards of the Gwent Levels.

Traditional orchards have the potential to support an extraordinary range of flora and fauna. They also hold enormous value for people in the food they produce and the heritage fruit varieties they contain.

The overall aim of the project is to record, protect and restore traditional orchards on the Gwent Levels.

• Map existing orchards

• Support owners to maintain and restore orchards

• Plant new trees

• DNA test old trees

• Survey orchards

• Enthuse orchard owners & communities

• Educate and train

For more information, follow the link below to see how to maintain traditional orchards.

Gwent Levels Traditional Orchard Invertebrate Study 2019 - 21

A report on invertebrates found in traditional orchards and in driftwood on the foreshore written by Paul F Whitehead (PDF 7.6MB)