Clone of Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree in Cambridge falls during Storm Eunice

• Sam Brockington, Curator at Cambridge University Botanic Garden

A clone of the famous apple tree which helped Sir Isaac Newton formulate his theory of gravity has fallen during Storm Eunice.

The tree, a scion of that which supposedly inspired Newton when he watched an apple fall from it, was planted in Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden in 1954.

The original tree, grown in the garden of Newton’s childhood home of Woolsthorpe Manor near Grantham in Lincolnshire, “was apparently felled in a gale (much like ours) in the early half of the 19th century”, wrote Dr Samuel Brockington, curator of Cambridge University’s Botanic Gardens.

The Cambridge tree fell on Friday, as winds of up to 80mph battered the East of England.

Dr Brockington said that the Botanic Gardens has three clones of the original tree, having “presciently engaged in some grafting over the past three years”.

Grafting involves the binding of shoots on to another sapling.

“Through the remarkable science of grafting, our scion of ‘Newton’s Apple Tree’ will hopefully continue in our collections,” Dr Brockington wrote on Twitter.

Cambridge University Botanic Gardens said it had “recently become aware” that the tree, which had stood by the Brookside entrance for 68 years, “had died and the strong winds proved too much”.

“We have a clone that will be planted elsewhere in the garden soon, so Newton’s Apple will remain in the garden, but sadly not in its accustomed place,” it said.