Robertsbridge Community Association
Community Orchard
Project Overview
The Robertsbridge Community Association is a registered Charity that administers the Village Hall, the Hall Allotments and the Field that connects the two. In the past the Junior Football Club used the Field, but moved to facilities at the Robertsbridge Senior School, so the Field was left fallow. The RCA needed to find a positive use for the Field and the idea for a Community Orchard was crystallised. With help and guidance this developed into a free to use facility that can be enjoyed by all comers.
The Orchard was opened by Councillor Sue Prochak MBE on 3rd May 2025 as a new community project that will enhance the wellbeing of all who visit.
Access is either via the Village Hall Car Park, through the five-bar gate and over the bund, or from Jubilee Field which has a ramp to the top of the bund. Walk along the bund, through the pedestrian gate and onto the Orchard location. Both routes drop down the slope and through the entrance gate in the deer fence. Please keep the gate closed whatever direction you pass.
The fruit that grows is free to anyone who would like to pick it for their own use.There will be enough for everyone, once the trees are mature and flourishing. As they grow, the harvest will increase year on year. There are benches for relaxation and anyone is welcome to enjoy the peace and calmness of the surrounding environment. It is not a playground, but the adjacent field is available for more active pursuits.
The Orchard has also been planted with flowers and shrubs to provide more interest and biodiversity. It is hoped that local beekeepers might also place some hives within the Orchard, which will encourage pollinators for the trees and the nearby allotment. The intention is for the site to develop over the coming years into a sustainable haven for the natural world.
The Robertsbridge Community Association would like to identify and thank the local companies and organisations that have helped to put this Orchard together. Planning a project is only half the story, Employing good, reliable suppliers and contractors is key to a successful outcome.
Rother Coronation Community Orchard Grant Fund
Administered by Rother District Council, Climate Projects Department. They gave encouragement and support throughout the fund application process, and supplied, by far, most of the funding to build and plant this orchard.
A big thanks to the following…
Salehurst and Robertsbridge Parish Council
Thank you to SRPC for passing the grant information to the RCA and giving encouragement to apply.
English Woodlands (Burrow Nursery) - Heathfield
Thank you for all the help in choosing and advising on how, when, and where, and supplying quality certified stock trees exactly when we wanted them.
Tate Fencing Ltd - Flimwell
Tates supplied the gate and hardware and advice on the best way to proceed.
Paine and Son - Fencing
Leon and Isaac for unravelling the netting and stringing it onto the new posts and sorting the access gates. Top job. Thank you.
Richard Webb – Tree Surgeon
Richard cleared the hedge behind the plot to give us more space to position the Orchard. Good, quick, and efficient. Thank you.
What’s in the Orchard?
1. Bramley Apple
Malus ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ is the most popular cooking apple. Green to greenish yellow fruit. A vigorous grower. Harvest in October, the apples store well. Pollinates with two other varieties eg. Katy and James Grieve.
2. James Grieve Apple
James Grieve – A versatile apple cooks and eats well. Red flushed fruits, reliable cropper. Harvest in September fruit stores well for 6 weeks. Self-fertile so no pollinator is required.
3. Katy Dessert Apple
Katy is a dessert apple with bright red fruits sweet juicy flavour. Harvest in early September, fruit is best eaten straight from the tree. Another variety is required for pollination eg Scrumptious.
4. Scrumptious Dessert Apple
Scrumptious. A dessert apple with superb flavour. Red fruits with a green flush. Harvest in early September keeps well for 6 weeks. Suitable for planting in all areas of the UK. Self fertile so no pollinator is required.
5. Comice Dessert Pear
The Comice pear, ‘Doyenne du Comice’, is a superb quality dessert pear which is an all-time classic and favourite. It produces very sweet fruits that are medium to large. The fruit is pale green with a rich juicy flavour.
6. Concorde Dessert Pear
Pyrus ‘Concorde’ is a dessert pear with medium to large fruit. Pale green turning yellow fruits with sweet mild juicy flavour. A heavy cropper harvest in late September stores well. Self-fertile so no pollinator is required.
7. Victoria Plum
Victoria plums are undoubtedly the most popular plum variety, not only in the UK but across the world. This is because a Victoria plum tree produces a reliable, heavy crop of large, red, juicy fruits which have a darker bloom colour on the surface and a good flavour. The flesh is dark yellow to orange, with streaks of red. Suitable for eating and cooking, also for jams, bottling and canning. Harvest fruits in late August. Self fertile so no pollinator is required.
8. Morello Cherry
This Morello cherry is a popular cooking cherry. Very hardy and reliable cropper. Ideal for a northerly site. Harvest in late July. Self-fertile so no pollinator is required.
9. Stella Dessert Cherry
Stella is a reliable dessert cherry. Dark red fruits with sweet juicy flavour. A good cropper harvest fruits in late July. Self-fertile so no pollinator is required.
10. Sunburst Dessert Cherry
Sunburst is an attractive dessert cherry has large dark red fruits with sweet flavour. Harvest in late July. Self-fertile so no pollinator is required.
11. Juglans regia Broadview
Juglans regia ‘Broadview’ is slow growing, reaching a height of up to 8m (20ft) Considered to be one of the best all-round walnut varieties for UK conditions. It is much smaller than the common walnut. It produces heavy crops of tasty nuts from an early age, 3 to 4 years, and these can be picked green and pickled or left on the tree where they will ripen, split open and be ready to eat in October, or stored.