17/07/2026
Our apple trees have been providing guests at Grays Court with fruit for centuries.
The earliest cartographic evidence appears on John Speed’s map of York, published around 1610 (slide 4), which shows cultivated gardens or a possible orchard between the house now known as Grays Court and the city ramparts.
Later maps, including John Cossins’ A New and Exact Plan of the City of York from 1742 (slide 5) and Alfred Smith’s 1822 map (slide 6), engraved for Edward Baines’s Yorkshire Directory, also show trees in the grounds, suggesting a consistent pattern of planting.
York Archaeological Trust has interpreted the area as “gardens, or perhaps orchards”, while archaeological work at the property has identified soil deposits consistent with centuries of garden use. (Slide 7)
It won’t be long until the team bring this year’s harvest to the table.
