Food History

Ted Hobday is the Chief Guide at Brogdale. Some of you may remember that a while back I met Canberra’s apple guru and found out about historical varieties and managed to purchase some medlars, to boot. When I was considering who I ought to interview next, someone from Brogdale was the obvious choice. Most of us can’t get to the UK and see the amazing collection, but we can go online and admire their wonderful photographs and hear what someone who works with them has to say. Ted Hobday is the perfect person.

Can you please tell us about Brogdale? What does it do? How does it work?

Brogdale is the name of the farm where the Defra National Fruit Collection is kept and the Collection has been at Brogdale since the early 1950s when it was transferred from Wisley. Brogdale is a farm of approx. 150 acres (64 hectares) and the Collection is located in about 50 of those acres.

Brogdale used to be a MAFF Research Station, but in common with many other agricultural/horticultural research stations was closed in the late 80s. The Brogdale Horticultural Trust was then formed to take over the care, maintenance and farming of both the Collection and the farm, with MAFF retaining ownership of the actual trees.

The Collection is one of the largest, if not the largest, collection of temperate fruit varieties in the world, with over 4,000 varieties of fruit from the temperate areas of the world. It is a genetic resource, an educational resource and a heritage centre.

Brogdale supplies scientists and growers with plant material and supplies a huge market of amateur growers with varieties of fruit that cannot be obtained elsewhere. It hosts educational visits and sends speakers out many organisations.

Defra is currently considering tenders to run the Collection for the 5 years commencing April, 2008.

Are there any organisations like Brogdale in other countries?

Yes there are other Collections, both in the UK and abroad, some of which are open to the public and others which are for pure research purposes, but none of the size of Brogdale. And there is constant communication between the different sites.

How do you identify heritage fruit? How do you work out how old/important a type of apple or medlar is?

Brogdale runs a fruit identification service and currently any fruits are identified using morphological techniques, combined with any historical data which may exist.

How does Brogdale add to its collection?

The Collection is added to when new varieties are propagated and clear PVR rules, together with any old varieties, which were thought lost, but have been found lurking somewhere. There are of course many rules to be gone through through before a variety is accepted into the Collection.

What got you (personally) interested in heritage fruit?

The fact that as a boy I worked on a fruit farm where old traditional varieties of fruit were being grown.

Do you have favourite stories you like to share with visitors? Can you share one or two with us, please?

There are a number of favourite stories and each Brogdale guide has their own stories, both true and legendary. One of my favourites is a comparatively recent tale of how I was severely reprimanded by two young lady scientists. I am fond of showing visitors an apple variety called “Kuldzhinka Krupnoplodnaya” simply because of its name, and proudly stating that it came from Russia. The two scientists were absolutely livid and berated me endlessly. It did NOT come from Russia they said, it was from the Ukraine, and the Ukraine was NOT part of Russia. You can see I was still stuck in the days of the USSR!!! There are many other stories, some even sexy ones.

Can you tell us a couple of curious historical tidbits that you know about particular fruit?

Some of the varieties in the Collection arrived in Britain with the Romans and are recorded in Roman military journals, whilst other species arrived with Wiiliam the Conqueror, whilst amongst the latest is an apple variety propagated in the 1990s.

What fruit is your personal favourite, and why?

I like fruit in general, but my favourite fruits are apples, no reason, just do ever since I was a boy, and I have several favourite apples, depending on the season, some of which are Katy, Holstein, Alkmene, Cox and Kent. Those are in the order of ripening through the season.