National Glass Centre

A small orchard of apple trees were planted in the communal landscaped area at the centre of Hartley Woods Estate in Sunderland this Spring. If you look closely, you will see that each tree bears a different variety of English apple, identifiable by a name label. In the Autumn the trees will produce apples of varying tastes, textures and colours, a harvest for the community to eat, share and enjoy.

Inspired by the former Wearside glass works, Hartley Woods, and the estate’s namesake, a barrel of glass apples will be placed at the centre of the new apple orchard. Each glass apple within the barrel will be handcrafted and coloured, to replicate the real apples produced by the orchard. These glass apples will be sculpted from molten glass at the National Glass Centre, using traditional glass making techniques. 

This rare English apple orchard and accompanying art work is part of a public art project with NGC, local artist Alec Finlay and Gentoo Sunderland. The project celebrates giving and sharing; the Hartley Woods Estate community is invited to nurture and harvest the orchard, sharing the growing crop of apples each year as the trees grow bigger and stronger and yield more fruit.    
 
We are delighted to be able to offer a limited number of free apple trees, suitable for resident’s private gardens. Each resident who claims a free apple tree will also receive a unique glass apple, hand-crafted at the National Glass Centre, as a celebration of the project. These apple trees are small and suitable for any garden.