Orchards

Orchards are found throughout the county although there are concentrations along the Chiltern scarp and in the south of Buckinghamshire. Notable areas are Ivinghoe Aston, Pitstone, Seer Green, Chalfont St. Giles and St. Peter. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Buckinghamshire was renowned for its orchards and local soft fruit varieties. The Aylesbury Prune has a distribution connected with the upper Greensand belt that lies at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment between Weston Turville and Tottenhoe Bedfordshire. The prune orchards, in common with many, have suffered a gradual decline in their fortunes. This has culminated in a few orchards of gradually diminishing quality left to mark the historical and cultural significance of this fruit.

A variety of cherry called the Archduke is noted for its association with Buckinghamshire. Holmer and Seer Green were centres of cherry growing and that the Caroon cherry was also used for the local cherry/turnover pie. In the early 20th century Seer Green was known as ‘Cherry Pie Village’ and was one of several villages that proved an attraction for people wishing to view the blossom.

Orchards were a common feature of the medieval landscape although the earliest map related evidence for orchards in Buckinghamshire relates to the estate maps of the 17th centuries. Characterising orchards in the Buckinghamshire HLC is problematical as there is insufficient map evidence to date before the 19th century.  However, many orchards in the Chilterns are believed to date to the 18th and 19th century in providing a supply of fruit to London. Orchards protect earlier archaeological remains from other more damaging land uses.