Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group
A History of the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project
Copyright © Roger Marsh (January 31, 2025)
Following discussions between Roger Marsh and Sally Pereira, a Public Conservation Walk was organised for Saturday, March 28, 2009 jointly by Owlthorpe Community Forum and Sally Pereira, Sheffield City Council’s Landscape Planning Officer. This was a public walk around the environment of Owlthorpe and was open to all parties interested in Owlthorpe.
The objective of the walk was that together we looked at and discussed the potential opportunities for conserving the landscape of Owlthorpe for the benefit of the community and the local wildlife. Although it was a cold day the walk was attended by almost 40 people including Clive Betts MP for Sheffield Southeast and Sheffield City Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris.
The concept of the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project was developed on this walk and was the idea of the then Sheffield City Council, Landscape Planning Officer, Sally Pereira.
The Objective was to plant a Wild Orchard in Owlthorpe to provide food and habitat for Owlthorpe’s local fauna at the same time preserving heritage fruit trees from Beighton’s Orchard by both stem and bud grafting.
The work was to be carried out by members of Owlthorpe Community Forum under the supervision of Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust.
March 2009 – Over the past two years, Julian Brandram has taught the art of grafting in Beighton Orchard.
The variety of buds chosen were apples popular in Britain for many years but now not considered commercially viable and therefore in danger of dying out.
The aim of grafting in Beighton Orchard was to build up stocks of these once popular varieties, which are part of our horticultural heritage and to provide trees for planting on land in the Southeast of Sheffield, managed by the Sheffield City Council.
March 2009 - Members of Owlthorpe Community Forum attended an apple tree grafting workshop run by Julian Brandram – Agricultural Botanist at Beighton Orchard. They learned how to graft old varieties of apple trees onto rootstock. In all fifteen trees were grafted using M25 cloned rootstock.
The types of apple trees grafted were:
Beeley Pippin. First introduced 1880. One of only four Derbyshire varieties.
Monarch. First introduced 1888. Apple cultivar ID: 111200.
Charles Ross. First introduced 1890. Apple cultivar ID: 101000.
Kidd’s Orange Red. First introduced from New Zealand 1924. Apple cultivar ID: 103800.
Adem’s Pearmain. First introduced 1826. Apple cultivar ID: 100100.
Blenheim Orange. First introduced 1740. Apple cultivar ID: 100600.
Epicure (‘Laxton’s Epicure’). First introduced in 1909.
It was planned that any apple trees that survived the grafting process would be planted in Owlthorpe’s Wild Orchard.
March 2009 - Members of Owlthorpe Community Forum and Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust carried out the planting of a small orchard of seven fruit trees on open grassland in the vicinity of Owlthorpe Hill. This location had been carefully selected to give the trees the best chance of survival and provide food and habitat for the local fauna. This was in conjunction with Sheffield City Council, Landscape Planning Officer, Sally Pereira.
The seven fruit trees were donated by Beighton Orchard with an estimated value of £105. These heritage fruit trees consist of one plum tree, type not known at this time: one pear tree, type not known at this time.
One ‘Laxton’s Super’ apple tree. First introduced in 1897. Apple cultivar ID: 103900.
One ‘Fortune’ (Laxton’s Fortune) apple tree. First introduced 1904. Apple cultivar ID: 118300.
One ‘Egremont Russet’ apple tree. First introduced in 1872. Apple cultivar ID: 101800.
One ‘Laxton’s Epicure’ apple tree. First introduced in 1909.
One ‘Annie Elizabeth’ apple tree. First introduced 1857. Apple cultivar ID: 100300.
Over spring and summer 2009 these trees were monitored and pests removed when necessary. The trees were watered when required and ‘mulched’ to retain the moisture and suppress the grasses and wildflowers around the base of the trees until they were established.
The ‘mulch’ was achieved by using recycled plastic tarpaulins recovered from a drinking den in Westfield Plantation. This den was taken down with the help of the East Ranger Team and the ‘mulching’ was carried out to the instructions of the Sheffield City Council, Landscape Planning Officer, Sally Pereira.
September 2009 – the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project was an important part of Owlthorpe’s entry in Yorkshire in Bloom. Yorkshire in Bloom presented Owlthorpe a bronze rose in the category Urban Community.
In December 2009 a further three fruit trees were planted in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
Blenheim Orange (Kempster’ Pippin) first introduced in 1740. Apple cultivar ID: 100600. Grafted by Roger Marsh at Beighton Orchard March 2009.
Adem’s Pearmain. First introduced 1826. Apple cultivar ID: 100100. Grafted by Elizabeth Barraclough at Beighton Orchard March 2009.
Pear ‘Conference’ half standard (Seedling pear) FF05.
The trees in the wild Orchard had their tips removed and they were pruned for shape. The bags from the peat free compost used in the planting of the fruit trees were reused as protective membranes (mulch) around the trees in the Wild Orchard.
In March 2010 a brick lined shaft was discovered in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
June 2010 – Members of the public were given the chance to try their hands at drystone walling, thanks to a course led by an expert.
The course, organised by Sheffield City Council, Landscape Planning Officer, Sally Pereira and Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust, was taught by Andrew Gray, who had 30 years of experience in drystone walling.
Volunteers used their newfound expertise to help build and restore other walls at Owlthorpe and the scheme is part of ongoing environmental improvement.
June 2010 a 3-day drystone walling course took place on the north boundary of Owlthorpe Wild Orchard to restore this retaining wall. The ground was cleared in front of the derelict drystone wall and the wall was dismantled. The stones were stacked on the cleared ground ready for reuse. All the drystone walling had been carried out by volunteers, including staff from Crystal Peaks, under the guidance of a regional champion drystone walling craftsman. This allowed us to complete half of the restoration of the 65-metre drystone wall.
We had an agreement with the owners of the horses in the paddock at the top of hedgerow No. 4 to allow us to use their matured horse manure to fertilise the fruit trees in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
September 2010 – the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project was an important part of Owlthorpe’s entry in Yorkshire in Bloom. Yorkshire in Bloom presented Owlthorpe a silver rose in the category Urban Community.
The judges of Yorkshire in Bloom recommended that a notice board should be erected adjacent to the Wild Orchard. The idea was supported by Sheffield City Council, Landscape Planning Officer, Sally Pereira and was erected by Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust. The board was funded at a cost of £625 by South Yorkshire Community Foundation.
Sometime after the notice board was installed Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust constructed a bench to the right of the notice board. It was made from rough timber from trees felled in the area.
Summer 2011 saw the completion of the restoration of the 65-metre drystone wall on the north boundary of the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard. This was achieved by a second 3-day drystone walling course. A total of 72 volunteers were involved over the two-year restoration project. A number of items were found embedded in the old wall including blades from a plough and three blades from a harrow.
After the completion of the reconstruction of the drystone wall the adjacent footpath was constructed. This footpath was constructed as part of the Owlthorpe Heritage and Nature Trail project.
The Owlthorpe Community Forum had successfully lobbied for the release of £67,455 of Section 106 monies that the developer of Woodland Heights, Owlthorpe had been withholding for approximately 10 years. Following legal action by Sheffield City Council the developer paid the monies.
Most of this money was used by Environmental Planning in conjunction with Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust and Owlthorpe Community Forum to progress the community-based initiative to develop the Owlthorpe Heritage & Nature Trail with ‘access for all’ provision wherever feasible. The construction work provides year-round access to our environmental projects giving more opportunity for educational use.
The new surfaced multi-user footpath was constructed from recycled crushed brick and concrete. This involved the use of a JCB, a 4-ton track machine, a dumper and a roller.
September 2011 – the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project was an important part of Owlthorpe’s entry in Yorkshire in Bloom.
Yorkshire in Bloom presented Owlthorpe a silver gilt rose in the category Urban Community. Yorkshire in Bloom also presented Roger Marsh of Owlthorpe Community Forum a Yorkshire Rose award in the category Discretionary Yorkshire Rose Award - Community Champion.
In spring 2012 Further planting of twelve trees took place in Owlthorpe Wild Orchard which brought the total number of trees to 23 fruit trees.
The additional trees planted were:
Two Pitmaston Pineapple
One Beauty of Bath
One Beled Pippin
One Ribston Pippin
One George Cave
One ‘Egremont Russet’ apple tree. First introduced in 1872. Apple cultivar ID: 101800.
Three Ashmede’s Kernel
One Vicar of Beighton
One Newton Wonder
One cherry tree type not known at this time. There is no record of the planting of the cherry tree. There is reason to believe that it may be a self-set possibly by birds. This fortunate occurrence provides an excellent food source for birds.
September 2012 – the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard Project was an important part of Owlthorpe’s entry in Yorkshire in Bloom. Yorkshire in Bloom presented Owlthorpe a gold rose in the category Urban Community. Yorkshire in Bloom also presented Owlthorpe Community Forum a Yorkshire Rose award in the category Discretionary Yorkshire Rose Award - Conservation.
December 2012 a couple marked their fifth wedding anniversary by planting an apple tree in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
New mum Jenny Cole and her husband Johnny, joined by their baby son Jack, marked their wood anniversary by adding a tree to the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
Jenny and Johnny had donated to the South Yorkshire Forest ‘Gift that Grows’ scheme, which offers people the chance to plant a tree to mark a special event, birthday or loved one.
A further 12 trees were funded by a £2,000 grant from The Green Bond to the Owlthorpe Local and Natural History Group.
The trees had been grafted by community volunteers from Owlthorpe who visited Beighton Orchard earlier in the year.
They were then planted by volunteers in an event organised by Sheffield City Council, and which was supervised by the Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust.
The total number of fruit trees now planted since 2009 in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard stands at 35.
Over the next few years, the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard was maintained by members from the Owlthorpe Local & Natural History Group. Every winter the trees were pruned for health and shape. Unfortunately, over the years the members got older, and the undergrowth of weeds and brambles got thicker, so the pruning had to stop.
Then came a period of neglect were access to the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard became extremely difficult.
May 2017 - Winter pruning of over thirty fruit trees in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard was carried out. These were mainly apple trees but also a cherry tree and two pear trees.
Three of the trees were difficult to access and one was totally inaccessible because of the invasion of bramble. Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust cleared back the bramble to allow the final tree to be pruned. Further clearance of bramble was required to help save the orchard.
Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust also planted a further six apple trees to gap up spaces in hedgerows in the Owlthorpe.
In late 2022 members of the Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group were walking through the fields of Owlthorpe when they came across one field with many trees covered in apples. They had come across Owlthorpe Wild Orchard that was obviously overgrown and neglected. This inspired them to get involved in restoring the orchard to its former condition.
They approached Sheffield City Council for permission to carry out the renovation. The council encouraged them in this regard.
In February 2023 the Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group took part in an apple tree pruning course run jointly by Sheffield Fruit Trees and Sheffield City Council, Parks & Countryside. The course took place in the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard.
In summer 2023 a meeting called by the Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group, and attended by other interested parties, to discuss the condition of the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard and the surrounding environment. The costs of renovating the area were addressed and a plan evolved to put a bid for a grant to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The problem of access to the Owlthorpe Wild Orchard was started to be addressed by Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust chopping rough pathways throughout the orchard using their Bank Commander.
In late September 2023 this allowed Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group to tag each of the trees by nailing a numbered aluminium disk to them. This in turn allowed the Group to establish the location of each tree by using GPS and allowing an accurate GIS map of the Orchard to be created.
In midsummer 2024, and after a lot of hard work, the documentation required to apply for the bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund was completed and submitted.
In late September 2024 we were informed that our bid had been successful, and we were allowed to go public in November. A steering committee was established to oversee the management of the project.
In November 2024 Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group announced publicly the amazing news that they had been awarded a £101,990 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
This significant funding will support improvements and conservation efforts on Owlthorpe Fields, securing its role as a crucial green space for our community.
The project will run over three years and will enhance access for all, including those with disabilities, restore pathways, manage vegetation and repair historical drystone walls. It will primarily focus on the orchard area. Aligned with Sheffield City Council’s Open Spaces Strategy, the project includes community involvement in conservation tasks, education programmes, and the creation of new interpretive materials and the learning of new skills for volunteers. Thes efforts are designed to deepen the community’s connection to the local environment and encourage ongoing preservation activities.
In January 2025 the project moved from the planning stage and activities in the field started. The Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust started by using grass cutters to clear the undergrowth in the field containing Owlthorpe Wild Orchard. They also made a start on pruning by removing some of the lower branches of some trees to raise their crowns.
In January 2025 Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust changed the lock and carried out repair work on the notice board adjacent to the Orchard. This allowed Owlthorpe Fields Conservation Group to display four posters informing the public of the activities of the Group and how they can get involved in the public activities.