The Story of 1927
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We now have the fifth generation of our family working with apples, which started in 1927 when William Brice bought Mockbeggar Farm in North Kent. He was a pioneer and became one of the top fruit farmers in the country. His son Joe Brice continued the great work and diversified just before the 'invasion' of French apples in the 1970s. I can remember driving round the farm with him during holidays, testing the fruit to make sure it tasted good! My uncles, Simon and Peter Brice, expanded the work until they retired, when my brother, John Myatt, took over and still farms on the original site with his daughters Alex & Hannah. They continue to win awards for their fruit.
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The Myatt side of our family has been traced back to 1430 - generations of farmers. So you could say it's in the blood!
Our part of the apple story started in 2013 when a friend asked if we'd seen the Moss Cider Project, based on Moss Side in Manchester? They found there was enough fruit going to waste in the centre of Manchester to make a cider business. So why didn't we do the same in Oxford? The first year we made some cider - it was pretty rough; so the second year I tried apple juice as well. Contrary to what most people said on the Internet, it was easy and tasted amazing!
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After a couple more years of messing around, I felt God say he wanted me to start a business & to get on with it! So, we cleared out the garage, made a wooden press from a Jamie Oliver design I found on the web, and used a car jack to add pressure. The scratter/mill to crush the apples was a dustbin and fence post - very effective but a bit slow.
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We were delighted to receive 2 tons of apples that first year, and each year it has grown in volume, and in the number of people bringing fruit. We wanted to turn waste fruit into an award winning product & received our first Great Taste Award in our second year. We also quickly developed links with Edge Housing, who provide long term accommodation for anyone who has been homeless, and with Farmability, who work with adults who have autism and learning difficulties. The mid-week rehab space is also great for the general public to come & relax.
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Most of the fruit we press is donated & would otherwise go to waste, but we have also been given the tenancy of an orchard which belongs to Christ Church. There are some very old trees which hadn't been tended for many years. So we are now able to press our own fruit as well.
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William Brice inspecting several tons of mulch on the farm.
Joe Brice
Andrew & Mandy met at the Royal Agricultural College where we both studied farm management. We felt God redirect us & ended up in Oxford leading Oxford Vineyard Church. The cider & apple juice, have been a fun addition to what we do.
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Ed Myatt, our eldest son, is also a director of the CIC & involved in most things, especially research and fund raising. Freddie & David muck in too when they are free. Henry works with Case New Holland in Bangkok.
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The photo behind shows the farm workers proudly displaying winning fruit from the late 1920's.
My brother, John, at the farm in the early '60s. He still works there.