Funding woe for apple statue plan

Bramley apples were developed in Nottinghamshire

Plans for a statue in Nottinghamshire to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Bramley apple are in doubt after the project failed to secure funding.

The first Bramley apple tree grew from a pip planted in 1809 by Mary Ann Brailsford in her garden in Southwell.

Part of the bicentenary plans included the unveiling of a commemorative statue of Mary Ann Brailsford at The Burgage in the town.

But Arts Council England refused to support the project.

Adrian Barlow, chairman of the Bramley Apple Campaign said: "The Bramley growers were always going to fund part of the statue but we needed to obtain extra funding to make it a reality.

"Unfortunately, our proposal does not meet the strict criteria that the Arts Council lays down.

"We are now looking at alternative funding sources but this has put a question mark over the project."

The apple got its name from a local butcher, Matthew Bramley, who bought the garden in which the tree grows in 1846.

In 1997, the University of Nottingham cloned the tree to guarantee a continuation of its genome.

There are now more than 500 Bramley apple growers in the country and more than 100,000 tonnes of the apples are sold every year.