Appeal to raise £250k to save original Bramley apple tree

The tree is believed to have been planted between 1809 and 1815 by Mary Ann Brailsford, who lived at the cottage. But the apple's unique character was not spotted for another 50 years until gardener Henry Merryweather took cuttings at a time the garden was owned by Matthew Bramley. As the seeds of an apple tree are not exact copies of the parent plant, all Bramleys are ancestors of cuttings from this tree. Artist Dan Llywelyn-Hall, one of the founders of the MBF, said an effort had to be made to protect the tree, which had "endured two world wars, fed the nation and is the most famous apple in the world". "Our ancient trees are not adequately protected in this country and the Bramley is testament to that - it does not have any tree protection whatsoever," he said. "A new owner, whoever that may be, could come in and chop down the tree and face no sanction and that would be the end of the story. "And this is one of the top 50 trees in the country and we should be championing it and making it open access to the public."