Fruit Farming in the Cam Valley

Fruit Farming in the Cam Valley An horticultural, social and economic history by Jonathan Spain

I would like to let local residents know of my book, recently self-published. Fruitgrowing has a long tradition in the Cam valley going back to medieval times. From the 1880s to the 1980s there developed a significant commercial fruit industry, which transformed the local landscape in and around the villages, most notably in Meldreth. The book is divided into three parts: the origins and commercial development of the fruits grown locally, the Cambridge gage, other plums, apples, cherries, pears and soft fruits, connecting the Cam valley to the European and global history of the domestication of fruits; secondly, the local geography and social history of fruit growing, including detailed surveys of the spatial development of orchards in South Cambridgeshire villages, including Meldreth; finally, the economic history of fruit farming, its rise and fall, set within the wider regional and national context. This includes the vital role of the local railway network and the extraordinary rise of the Chivers jam-making business at Histon. Price £25, 489 pages, including bibliography, index, maps and illustrations. For more information see my blogsite: jonathanspain.wordpress.com. To order a copy, please email me at jrspain1@hotmail.com. Jonathan Spain

www.meldrethhistory.org.uk

See the Meldreth Today Section for information on local clubs and groups