A Flavour of Guernsey - A Taste of Nostalgia

The Story of the Guernsey Tomato

loading tomatos late 1920s

 The Guernsey tomato was a mainstay of the island’s economy from Victorian times to the 1970s and renowned throughout Europe for its quality and flavour. Now, for the first time, the museum service is holding a special exhibition to celebrate the ‘Story of the Guernsey Tom’.

Lloyd Robilliard's remarkable collection of objects and machinery and Peter Brehaut’s  photographs and documents have been combined with research and archive material from several other sources. Hundreds of objects, photographs and archive film are displayed in appropriate settings.

Peer into packing sheds, wander past a greenhouse and watch ‘men’ preparing to steam the soil. See and hear Guernsey ‘Patois’ which was commonly spoken and meet some of those who worked in the industry. Try your hand at grading and packing, and make a ‘chip’ basket. There are activities for all the family. Follow the story through from the preparation of the soil to planting, packing and export to market.
 

Loading tomato 'chips' into a lorry, late 1920's
Exhibition photo gallery - click here
 

For local people the exhibition is a reminder of times past – a ‘taste of nostalgia’ and for visitors it offers a real ‘flavour of Guernsey’.

The exhibition runs from June 19th – Oct 9th 2003 at Guernsey Museum & Art Gallery, Candie Gardens. Tel: 726518

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