Somerset Cider Making

Description

An investigation of cider makers employing methods considered as within the West Country tradition of making, i.e. still sharing basic similarities with recorded descriptions of the methods used by sixteenth and seventeenth century makers, where the juice is pressed using a press turned by man-power. The study is in four parts. Part One presents the history of cider production in England, while the second describes the development of cultivation and processing techniques. The third part focusses on three Somerset cider makers, and their different methods of small-scale production. The first informant is from East Lyng and employs the straw method; the second is from Martock and employs the coconut matting method; and the third maker studied lives in Athelney and uses the nylon cloth method. Each method is illustrated by photographs taken by the collector. The final part considers customs and superstitions attached to cider-making, with particular reference to wassailing the apple tree in Carhampton. Appendices contain photostat copies of pages from John Worlidge's 'Vinetum Britannicum' (1676), concerning his invention of a cider mill. A list of contacts and informants is also provided.

Metadata

Identifier q15xn6g8
IRN 410061
Class Mark LAVC/SRP/2/025
Level File
Type of Record Archives - ISAD(G)
Peristent Link http://prototype1.library.leeds.ac.uk/q15xn6g8
Collection(s) Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
Category Archive
Parent Record Undergraduate Dissertations
Creator(s) Gallon, K S
Date 1966
Size and Medium 106 unbound typed leaves; 47 b/w photographs.

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