14. Hexham Pear
Recumbent yet in rude health, a Northumbrian pear tree that surely has a tale to tell.
Welcome to The Street Tree! This is the fourteenth in a series of posts about great individual trees from Britain and Ireland. Look out for at least one a week over the coming months.
The market town of Hexham lies in the Tyne valley and is only 55 miles south of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, a place that was once famed for its orchards producing ‘Jethart pears’. Perhaps this Northumbrian pear is related. Hexham’s pear grows against the southern wall of Hexham Abbey close to its west end. It is an old, spidery tree consisting of several twisting limbs that spread from a prone trunk. It appears to have suffered some catastrophe many years ago.
Species details
Pear
Pyrus communis
Where to find it
Hexham Abbey, Beaumont Street, Hexham NE46 3NB
///withdraws.engage.remodels | 54.971391, -2.103039
Pear notes
Old pear varieties were often known as ‘wardens’, they were a common food in many parts and were often planted around religious institutions. Wardens don’t ripen, and so must be cooked in order to be edible. They would have been thought of as a savoury food rather than as a dessert and may have been important for keeping through the winter, especially before such exotic vegetables like potatoes arrived in the 16th century.
