Seer Green is known as ‘the cherry pie village’.
The village was surrounded with cherry orchards and the fruit was grown to be sent, by train, ‘up’ to the market at Covent Garden
Long Grove and later the ‘new’ (Manor Farm) estate were built on former cherry orchards. You could still see recently the ladders (wide at the base and narrowing at the top) specially made for cherry picking. And local Baker Lofty made cherry turnovers (pies) which were local delicacies.
We still celebrate the historical cherry connection in the annual village school ‘Cherry Pie Fayre’.
Whilst many of the orchards no longer exist, there are still the remnants of one next to Green Wood and here and there other, individual cherry trees can be seen – along with house names reflecting the past.
Things change. In those days the old Baptist chapel was on the main road but is now a private house. Its Sunday School rooms have become the Parish Church Hall.
But the new Baptist building is edged with cherry trees and is still there to serve the community.
