The Orchard Today
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The importance of the Rivers legacy to the community of Sawbridgeworth cannot be over-estimated. Part of this inheritance is the Rivers Orchard which is a wonderful treasury of fruit varieties. It is the home for approximately 560 fruit trees on a 4 acre site, comprising multiple varieties (see below), including the eponymous Thomas Rivers apple. The orchard contains the one of the most extensive collection of plums and gages in England with approximately 30 different types identified. Over 80 apple and over 15 pear varieties have been recorded and cherries are the next fruits to be identified. The Orchard includes the Conference pear and the Czar plum, two of the most well-known of the many fruits that have been raised or introduced by the Rivers family.
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The project to identify existing cultivars in the orchard and re-stock with those developed (see a full list in History) or sold (see the catalogues in the archives) by Rivers Nursery has been ongoing since approximately 2008. The help of members of the fruitID project and Paul Read is greatly appreciated. The full list of cultivars identified on the site is shown below.
* indicates a Rivers cultivar.
** indicates a previously unknown cultivar found on the site and named by the volunteer groups.
83 Apple cultivars
| Adam's Pearmain | Allington Pippin | Annie Elizabeth |
| Arthur Turner | Ashmead's Kernel | Barnack Beauty |
| Baumann's Reinette | Beauty Of Bath | Blenheim Orange |
| Bramley's Seedling | Charles Ross | Court Perdu Plat |
| Cox's Orange Pippin | Cox's Pomona | Cox's Self Fertile |
| Crab Apple | Crawley Beauty | Crimson Bramley |
| Crimson Victoria | Crispin | Dawn |
| Devonshire Quarrendon | Discovery | Doctor |
| Dunkerton's Late | Edward Vii | Egremont Russet |
| Ellison's Orange | Emneth Early | Epicure |
| Exquisite | Fairie Queen | Fearn's Pippin |
| Gascoyne's Scarlet | George Cave | Grenardier |
| Herring's Pippin | Holstein | Honey Pippin |
| James Grieve | Jargonelle | Keswick Codling |
| King Of Pippins | King's Acre Pippin | Kingston Black |
| Lady Sudeley | Lane's Prince Albert | Laxton's Fortune |
| Laxton's Superb | Laxtons Fortune | Lemon Pippin |
| Lord Lambourne | Lord Suffield | Margill |
| Miller's Seedling | Monarch | New Hawthornden* |
| Newton Wonder | Orleans Reinette | Pam's Delight |
| Peasgood Nonsuch | Pitmaston Pineapple | Prince Edward* |
| Ribston Pippin | Ribstone Pippin | Rivers Early Peach* |
| Rivers Nonsuch* | Rivers St Martin | Royal Russet |
| Sowman's Seedling | Spartan | St Edmund's Pippin |
| St. Edmund's Russet | St. Everard | Sturmer Pippin |
| Sunset | Thomas Rivers* | Tydeman's Early Worcester |
| Tydeman's Late Orange | Voyager | Warner's King |
| Worcester Pearmain | Young's Pinello |
1 Apricot cultivar
| Early Moor Park |
4 Cherry cultivars
| Bradbourne Black | Early Rivers* | Merton Premier |
| Morello |
2 Damson cultivars
| Merryweather | Rivers Early* |
7 Gage cultivars
| Brandy | Cambridge | Early Transparent* |
| Goldfinch | Green Established | Late Transparent* |
| River's Late Orange |
18 Pear cultivars
| Bellissime D’Hiver | Beurre Hardy | Catillac |
| Concorde | Conference* | Doyenne De Comice |
| Doyenne Du Comice | Gloucester Morceau | Louise Bonne D'Avranches |
| Magnate* | Marie-Louise D'Uccle | Merton Pride |
| Onward | Pitmaston Duchess | Princess* |
| Summer Beurre* | Thompsons | Williams |
21 Plum cultivars
| Belle De Louvain | Bittern* | Blaisdon |
| Burrell's Red | Czar* | Early Favourite* |
| Early Rivers* | Firecrest** | Jefferson |
| Marjorie's Seedling | Monarch* | Opal |
| Red Myrobalan | Rivers Early Prolific* | Severn Cross |
| Shropshire Prune | Swan | Thames Cross |
| Victoria | Wark's Drooper | White Bullace |