Made out of Orchards by Tessa Bunney on display at Martin Parr Foundation

Made out of Orchards by photographer Tessa Bunney documents cider makers in and around Somerset which has more working cider farms than any other county in England. Since 1950 nearly two thirds of England’s orchard area has disappeared and this series, commissioned by the Martin Parr Foundation, captures an industry in flux and what may soon be lost.

Cider is the original West Country drink and has been made in the area for centuries - farm labourers used to get paid in it and babies were even baptised in it. Apple trees are particularly suited to the soil and climate of the South West, and the orchards, many tucked away far down rural lanes, give the landscape a very particular feel and rich diverse habitat.

In the autumn of 2019 Bunney began to photograph the diversity of producers - from the 7th generation Hecks to the only maker in Somerset of cider with a ‘cheese’ (stacked pressed apple pulp) made with straw, to Roger Wilkins’ rare remnants of cider house culture to Burrow Hill’s brandy made from cider. Documenting both the smaller orchards which blend in with the patchwork landscape of small fields and the larger orchards supplying industrial cider makers, she visited producers who use only apples picked up by hand from their own and local orchards and those who use special apple picking machines. Bunney captured the processes of washing, milling, building the ‘cheese’, pressing, fermenting to make the cider as well as the people who just drop by for a quick half. In addition, her photographs show ancient customs such as wassailing - a traditional ceremony which involves singing and drinking the health of trees to promote a good apple crop for the following year.

England’s orchard areas are fast disappearing with the land use changing to fields for livestock, urban development, arable farming and deciduous woodland. In 2018 major cider apple buyers in the country cancelled their contracts with growers, favouring cheaper imported apple concentrates, leaving them with little options but to consider bulldozing the orchards. However, the most immediate threat to the industry is the current trend for fruit ciders which has already resulted in large-scale bittersweet orchards being grubbed out. Bunney’s photographs depict the richness and diversity of an industry, traditions and landscape which are at risk of vanishing.

England’s orchard areas are fast disappearing with the land use changing to fields for livestock, urban development, arable farming and deciduous woodland. In 2018 major cider apple buyers in the country cancelled their contracts with growers, favouring cheaper imported apple concentrates, leaving them with little options but to consider bulldozing the orchards. However, the most immediate threat to the industry is the current trend for fruit ciders which has already resulted in large-scale bittersweet orchards being grubbed out. Bunney’s photographs depict the richness and diversity of an industry, traditions and landscape which are at risk of vanishing.