The Bratton Community Orchard
This unusual Parish asset is owned by the Parish Council. It is better known as Reeves Orchard and is the only comprehensive Apple Collection in Wiltshire. It is situated in a steep valley opposite the Parish Church. It is managed with the support of a growing number of local volunteers. The original orchard and allotments were planted and laid out in 1936 on land owned by the Reeves family who owned the ironworks and foundry in Bratton. It was all later donated to the Parish by Miss Kathleen Reeves.
The orchard retains many of the original trees, e.g. Red and Green Bramley, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Ellison’s Orange, Laxton’s Superb, Newton Wonder, Charles Ross, Peacemake
r, James Grieve, Herring’s Pippin, with Damson trees protecting one end. It was tended by volunteers until 1988, when a new Parish Council Conservation Management Plan was implemented, restoring the area in accordance with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and DEFRA plans.
Reeves Orchard is managed by a group of local volunteers, mainly from the village. Their work involves pruning trees in winter and clearing unwanted scrub, and from springtime until autumn, they maintain a number of paths through the orchard, so that people can meander and enjoy the changing flora and views.
There is an annual mowing and cutting down of all the grass around August when wildflower seeds have set and dropped.
In the autumn an Apple Juicing Day takes place – look our for a notice in the Parish News!
There are also links to Bratton School.