Herefordshire cider is well known and loved around the world and its easy to see why, but did you know that by 1397 it was the most popular drink in the county. So popular was it that many farmers paid their church tithes with it and babies were baptised with it. We’re assuming that it was purely used to wet the baby’s head but maybe not as a law was passed forbidding the use of cider in the baptismal font.
Apart from the Vicar of Dilwyn who would feed his servants with toast and cider throughout the whole of Lent, you may be wondering what vicars did with their stocks of cider? Well cider became another form of currency and could be bartered for food, goods and services. Farm labourer’s wages were also part paid in cider and during harvesting season it was thought that a person would consume as much as three gallons a day without it affecting the quality of their work. We can only assume that the cider being dished out was a weak version of what we may enjoy today.
Cider was enjoyed in village inns too and many a poor wife would turn up looking for their husbands, only to find them merrily supping away on the golden nectar and in no hurry to return home. This too was the case with Adam and Biddy. Adam was a more than a bit partial to a drop of cider and would often roll home in a merry but drunken state much to the annoyance of his wife Biddy. As divorce was not so readily available in those days Biddy decided upon an alternative course of action to put a stop to her husband’s errant ways. One night she dressed from head to foot in a white sheet, hid in the dark beneath an oak tree close to their house and awaited her husband’s return.
After a short while of waiting she could hear Adam loudly bidding everyone a good night and making his way up the lane. Just as he drew near to her Biddy stepped out in front of him, not making a sound, hoping she would frighten the wits out of him. Instead with a smile and enquiring voice he said, “So who might you be then?”. At this point Biddy had to dig deep for the most manly, devilish voice that she could find and replied, “I be Old Nick, the Devil”. Without batting an eyelid Adam replied, “Ah welcome Nick, come on inside, we have one of your sort in there already”. As you can imagine Biddy was not best pleased on hearing that and Adam never heard the last of it.
Making your own cider was an extremely popular pastime too, the pulp left behind from pressing would be a real treat for foraging cattle as it is today. However up in Cobnash a few ducks got more than they had bargained for after they happily gorged themselves on a pile of cider pulp. It was a cold winters night and as the fermented pulp took hold in their bellies, the ducks fell asleep on the frozen snow. Hypothermia set in and they were later found by their owner now frozen stiff and lifeless. As they were due to go to Leominster market shortly anyway their owner decided to pluck them in readiness. She set to work in her warm kitchen, plucking the ducks and putting them to one side. But to her horror one by one they came back to life. The warmth of the kitchen had thawed them out nicely and they were now flapping about making lots of noise. Feeling very guilty that they were now naked and featherless she made the ducks little scarlet coats to keep them warm which they wore until their feathers returned. What a sight they must have been all strutting around the farmyard in their posh garments.
In the famous chained library in Hereford Cathedral sits the Wycliffe Bible affectionately known as the ‘Cider Bible’. The reason for this is that any references that you see in the original Bible to ‘strong drink’ were replaced in Wycliffe’s version with ‘Sider’. Keep an eye out for it when you visit next.
Cider has played a large part in the history and heritage of our wonderful county. It’s a big part of our traditions, from helping to pick and press in the Autumn, to happily wassailing in the orchards together on a cold January night each year. So we’ll finish here with a toast to our amazing Herefordshire cider and perry producers. Wassail and long may you continue to bring a smile to faces of cider lovers at home and across the globe.