Sandford Orchards to mark Franklin’s Night with a special event in Crediton

Sandford Orchards is delighted to announce that it will be marking Franklin’s Night with a special event at The Cider Works on Saturday 18th May.

The evening will celebrate the ancient tradition of fighting the devil to prevent a late frost from damaging the apple harvest, and will include a reenactment, live music, food and cider.

Franklin’s Night is based on an old folklore that suggests a brewer called Franklin, who was keen to reduce the availability of cider, made a pact with the devil to send a frost in May to hit the cider apple blossom. In order to enjoy a bountiful crop of apples, there has to be a healthy blossom coverage in the spring. To avoid this late freeze, the old story goes, the cider maker needed to throw the devil off the bridge!

Franklin’s Night has been celebrated through the centuries and Sandford Orchards is keen to continue the tradition.

Head Cider Maker, Barny Butterfield, explains: “These long-honoured festivities are part of our cider making heritage, particularly in our home town of Crediton. Here at Sandford Orchards, we think it is incredibly important to continue these traditions because they bring the community together and they remind us all of the fragility of the natural world and our reliance on it for our food and drink.”

He continues: “Our Franklin’s Night events put the emphasis very much on celebrating with the local community. It is a great excuse to get together and drink cider! Mid May is the time of year when the previous years’ cider is ready for drinking. The saying goes that you mustn’t taste your cider until you’ve heard the first cuckoo of spring, so around Franklin’s Night is the perfect opportunity to try our latest batches.“

He finishes: “We aren’t expecting the devil to turn up to our Franklin’s Night celebrations on 18th May but there will be a play from the Mummers depicting the tale and a band with some live music. There will be food and there will definitely be cider. We’re hoping the crowds will turn out for a little bit of local history, washed down with some fabulous local cider. “

For more information on the Franklin’s Night event visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk.

For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk, follow Sandford Orchards on X,Facebook and Instagram.

Event tickets are available here.