Richard Cox
and the Cox's Orange Pippin
Richard Cox
and
the
Cox's Orange Pippin
An Important Fruit
Richard Cox died in 1845 aged 79 so he did not see the full fruits of his labour. Other nurserymen began to sell Cox's Orange Pippin trees and by 1883 it was already one of the most popular apples in the country. Now it is well known all over the world - and all the Cox's Orange Pippin trees ultimately derive from grafts from the original tree in Colnbrook. Like so many varieties, it favours its own locality and it is said to 'grow of its best not much more than 100 miles from its birthplace in Colnbrook'.
Today nearly 70% of all dessert apples grown in this country are Cox's Orange Pippins or Queen Cox, a Cox clone, amounting to 100,000 tons. In 1992 the estimated retail sales for Cox were £88.7 million.
Old maps show that Colnbrook was surrounded by orchards and market gardens. The well-drained soil and easy access to London markets made fruit growing a profitable occupation. In 1880 there were estimated to be 3,249 acres of orchards in Middlesex, reaching 5,345 in 1910. This fell to 1,706 acres in 1935 and has declined steadily ever since.
This decline reflects a national trend in the loss of old orchards. About two thirds of our orchard area (150,000 acres) have gone since the 1950s and with it many cultural associations - horticultural skills, recipes, songs and customs and many local varieties of fruit. The creation of Community Orchards offers one way of keeping orchards alive.
