February 2025

Published on February 1, 2025.

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An official Sawbridgeworth Council Launch took place on 7 January 2025, marking the 300 years anniversary of the founding of Rivers Nursery in 1725. Council members, Ruth Rivers representing the Rivers family, community volunteers and gardeners from Audley End where a Rivers Orchard Glasshouse stands, all helped to make the start festive! There were brief presentations on the founding of the Heritage Orchard, the anniversary events to come and the planting of 6 Rivers plum trees to commemorate the year. A discussion on the significance of Rivers Nursery past and present, local and national, concluded with the fact that the Conference Pear, a Rivers cultivar of 1885, is now the ‘Nation’s Favourite Pear’. (See Google.) You’ll find it in the Sawbridgeworth Coop as well as in supermarkets in Japan.

See the article ‘Restoring Rivers Orchard: Early Happenings and Great Events’ by Hazel Mead, published this month, for more information on the Japanese connection.


Adrienne Richardson, the hard working organiser of the Rivers Orchard maintenance schedule with a display board of May Rivers fruit watercolours.

The Sawbridgeworth Council chamber was looking good for the event. Bright lights, nibbles and drinks and especially displays full of information and colour filled the room and invited people to stop and look. Guests could pick up some of the newly designed leaflets or buy copies of the book, Rivers Nursery of Sawbridgeworth, first published in 2009 but twice sold out - now reprinted for sale during this anniversary year. One display board featured colour images of the beautiful May Rivers drawings of Rivers fruit, that were published in the late nineteenth century. There is on that board another wonderful image, come to us through the estate of Betty Rivers in Aran. It is of May Rivers in her studio creating these watercolours. (A later article to be published on this website will explain further.) These display boards will follow us to the next events.


May Rivers in her studio in the late 19th Century.

In addition, a permanent new display for the Council walls was put in place for this launch - embroideries of the 4 fruit families grown in the Heritage Orchard, apples, pears, plums and cherries. These were worked by Karin Keddy from designs by Kaffe Fassett. These will hang as a permanent reminder of the trees growing now on the Rivers Nursery site and bearing specific Rivers fruit cultivars as identified by Eugene Keddy.


Karin Keddy with her embroideries.


Next Event

We are working towards our Celebration Day on April 26 - a special event for the 300th year. There will be talks and discussion, walks and lunch, all providing opportunities to see the heritage of Rivers from a broad perspective of fruit growing in English gardens. Audley End with its authentic Rivers Orchard House will be linked to this event.

It will be a free event but booked through Eventbrite to manage numbers - watch this space!

Wonderful Wassail!

The Orchard volunteers had prepared the site to sparkle and glow in the firelight. The night was dark and cold but clear. And in this year of celebration, the students from Leventhorpe and Herts and Essex High Schools came with their voices and their joy to light up the dark night. Singing, guitars, drums and cheers set the orchard trees growing for this 300th Anniversary year. There were more people with more enthusiasm than ever before. We thank the students and their teachers all for their contributions! Wonderful Wassail indeed!



The crowd sings, led by the Choir of students, guitars and flute from near the gazebo. Wassail singers come from afar to join in.


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