Somerset family grows same broad bean since 1875; heirloom joins national collection

Broad beans in the pod. Image Credit: Wikipedia A broad bean grown by the same Somerset family since 1875 has become part of a national collection of heritage vegetables. Known as Grandfather Bean, the variety has been maintained by the Burge family for around 150 years, with seed passed down through generations. In 2025, it was among 11 varieties successfully added to Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library after being grown and assessed as part of a project to find unusual and threatened crops. Its journey from a family garden to a permanent seed collection shows how individual growers can preserve varieties that might otherwise disappear.Importance of Somerset family’s 150-year-old broad beanGarden Organic says Grandfather Bean was grown by the Burge family in Somerset for around 150 years, making it a genuine family heirloom. The organisation records that the variety was named Grandfather Bean by the donor’s father, referring to his own great-grandfather, who was born in the 1830s. The name therefore connects the seed not only to the crop itself but also to the family history surrounding it. Garden Organic included the broad bean among the varieties successfully added to its Her...