Southwell Minster is celebrating the bicentenary of the Bramley apple by dedicating a stained glass window to the fruit, which has its origins in the town.
The window depicts Bramley in a design based on the Tree of Life and will mark 200 years since the first Bramley apple tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in a garden in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, in 1809.
The window will be officially blessed and inaugurated into the Minster today in a service of thanksgiving by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, which will feature a specially penned anthem.
Roger Merryweather, High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and great-grandson of Henry Merryweather, the first commercial Bramley apple grower, told freshinfo: “We are absolutely delighted with the result and it is a fitting tribute to Bramley.
“It has been a long process and taken a while to negotiate a design that fitted with the Romanesque architecture of the Minster, but the most important thing is that it looks good when it is in place.
“The bright and vibrant colour of Bramley looks excellent as it faces west with the afternoon sun. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the world-famous apple.”
The original Bramley apple tree continues to bear fruit and those few pips planted 200 years ago are responsible for what is today a £50 million industry, with some 80,000 tonnes sold each year.
The new window has been created by award-winning designer Helen Whittaker of York’s Barley Studios. She specialises in designing stained glass windows and architectural sculpture in glass and copper.
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