Back in Time
Westons Cider and Perry has been made at ‘The Bounds’ in the Herefordshire village of Much Marcle for well over a hundred years, a site where Herefordshire men have produced these sturdy beverages for their own use for centuries.
It was in 1878 that Mr Henry Weston came to farm at 'The Bounds' and as a matter of course he continued the tradition, making his own fruit from the farm orchards into Cider and Perry, for the making and drinking formed part of the annual pattern of life in the country. There was always a barrel of cider in the cellar for the family to use – and a hogshead in the cider house for the men, who, at the start of each day the year round, brought their wooden ‘costrels’ to the cider house to be filled with the days allowance.
As a tenant farmer without much capital, at a time when the newly opened lands of the British Empire were beginning to send cheap agricultural products to this country, Henry Weston soon realised that he was going to have difficulty in achieving the standard of living that he wanted for his family. Another source of income was needed and it seemed that development of the existing cider making practice into a commercial enterprise could be the answer. Henry Weston’s decision in 1880 to attempt this was probably influenced by his neighbour, Mr C W Radcliffe Cooke of 'Hellens' in Much Marcle. Mr Cooke, Member of Parliament for Herefordshire had so persistently advocated the development of West Country Cider making, so that Cider could become a national drink, he was known as the 'Member for Cider'.
The decision having been made, Henry Weston gained customers and slowly expanded the business, not by advertising but by recommendation, a method which called for products of the highest quality and close attention to customer requirements. 
Thus he established a tradition of business which has been maintained by the company ever since.
For the first few years the only means of manufacture was the old stone mill which had been in use making the farm cider for generations and an equally well used screw press; but it was not long before a roller mill, mechanical chain presses and a steam engine to drive them made an appearance. The stone mill and screw press were retired to the garden of the farmhouse where they can still be seen to this day.
The steam engine and chain presses were replaced in their turn by electric power and hydraulic presses, but although Henry Weston had planned for this development it was not until after his death in 1917 that his plans, delayed by the First World War, were finally realised.
Now there are more and bigger vats, more fruit is handled, cider is available in many different forms and bottles are cleaned and filled at speeds undreamed of in the early days. However, some things have not changed. H. Weston & Sons Limited is still an independent family business whose policy has always been to offer its customers a wide choice of Cider and Perries of the same high standard of quality as those which Henry Weston was so proud to produce.
