Aspall Cyder

Aspall is run by the eighth generation of the Cheavallier family, and are still working amongst Clement's orchard, growing fruit and producing their range of vinegar and cider, or cyder as they like to call it, products.

It all started In 1728 by Clement Chevallier who had planted apple orchards at Aspall Hall in Suffolk. He began to establish the family-run cyder making business and built The Cyder House, with the help of local craftsmen. The building still stands today and houses Clement Chevallier's original mill and press. The original heavy granite wheel and trough, so critical to the process of cyder making, were brought by ship to Ipswich from the Ilses de Chausse off the Normandy coast. From there, heavy horses were required to bring both to Aspall, a journey that took 3 days and is logged in Clement's book as costing £6, a princely sum in those days. The original press is a masterpiece of craftsmanship; built from wood off the estate it was in continual use until 1971; sadly, the stone wheel and trough were last used to mill the apples in 1947, when the last press horse died and a replaced with a small petrol powered dicing machine. The Cyder House remains a constant reminder of the past and the traditions and philosophy laid down by Clement and his descendants.