In the summer of 1819, the Reverend Doctor John Chevallier of Aspen Hall, near the village of Debenham, Suffolk, visited one of his tenants, labourer John Andrews. After seeing impressive heads of barley growing in his cottage garden, Chevallier requested some grains be planted at his adjoining estate. During the previous harvest season, Andrews, working as a thresher for Edward Dove at neighbouring Ulverston Hall, came home with handsome, plump seeds lodged in his boots, and planted these specimens in his garden.
After five years of propagation under Chevallier’s successful supervision, his field hands harvested 32 bushels per acre. This led to the commercialising of this new genetically stable variety, which quickly gained fame among English maltsters, thanks to its superior malting qualities. By 1833, a London brewery mashed Chevallier…
