Apple Trees 8- Historic Varieties Grown and Supplied by Bernwode Fruit Trees

BUSHY FRENCH A cider ‘sweet’, provided by the Gloucestershire Orchard Group, who collected it from the only known old tree at Minsterworth. A small to medium sized apple, green with a brown blush sometimes with red stripes and patchy russet. The flesh is green, sweet and slightly tannic. Late season and flowering late. It starts shrinking by the end of November, though it remains juicy. Pollination Group 6

CAMBRIDGE PIPPIN An old variety and old tree, owned by Alan and Ann Herring of Pavenham, Bedford, who brought apples to us in 2006. It is not the ‘lost’ Cambridge Pippin of Thomas Rivers and not the Cambridge Pippin that is a synonym of Bedfordshire Foundling. Their house was built in the 1760s and always had an orchard attached. The tree appears to be at least 100 years old, though possibly very old. The name of this apple was passed on by a family friend, Mr Horace Church, who died several years ago in his mid-eighties. He was a countryman and smallholder, very precise in his knowledge and naming of fruit varieties. He knew the orchard in 1910 as a child and told a good tale of how, during World War I, he scared birds from the fruit with gravel in his shotgun. Being under-age, he was allowed powder but not shot! In our previous catalogue we have suggested that this apple is only for culinary use, being a bit sharp. However, in some years, if left late before picking, it becomes a very good eating apple, with sweet, rich, juicy flesh, especially after storing for a while. As a cooking apple it needs little or no sugar or water and quickly purées in a pan or under light microwave. A medium, sometimes large, green apple, turning yellow when kept and sometimes developing pale amber flecks. It is ripe from late-September to late October and will stay juicy and keep its flavour to the end of the year. Pollination Group 4

CAMBRIDGE QUEENING Known since the start of the 20th century but older, and believed to be from Cambridge, Gloucestershire. A culinary and dessert apple that has also been used as a cider ‘sharp’. In most years it might not develop fully into a good eating apple, but seems to be inclined to do so in our hotter summers, when, in October, it is sweet and with an excellent flavour, though not that juicy. It can be used earlier as a juicy cider apple. When cooked it softens quickly and completely, with a good flavour and no need for added sugar. The fruit varies in shape, sometimes it is irregular and ribbed, sometimes more rounded, with striking stripes, flecks and patches of dark red. Patches of russet are variable. The fruit will last into January, remaining sweet. Pollination Group 5

CAMBUSNETHAN PIPPIN There are different provenances for this old and excellent Scottish apple. Hogg said that it originated at the ancient Cambusnethan Monastery in Stirlingshire, and that it was much valued in Scotland, where it was called ‘Cam'nethan Pippin'. Bunyard said it arose around 1750 when raised by Mr Paton, gardener at Cambusnethan House, Stirlingshire. The local distinctiveness charity ‘Common Ground’ have suggested it was raised near Wishaw in Clydesdale, Lanarkshire. It could be a quite ancient apple. Both Hogg and Bunyard suggest it is less suited to southern Britain where it may be second rate, but we contest that. It is excellent with us. A small to medium sized apple with pale lemon yellow skin and broken crimson streaks on the side next to the sun, sometimes with an orange flush. There is some russet over the base and around the stalk. It has a distinctive wide, open eye. The flesh is 'tender and juicy, with a mild acidity', according to Hogg. This does not do it justice. The flavour is very rich, sweet, juicy and with a perfect balance of acid. It has been used in cooking, but it is really a full dessert apple. In Scotland it is ripe in October and stores to January, while in the south it is often ripe in late September and lasts only to Christmas. Part tip bearing, but quite willing to form spurs. Pollination Group 5

CAPPER’S PEARMAIN Another old apple, extinct in Britain but reintroduced by us from the Grove Research Station, Tasmania, collection of Heritage Apples in 2005. It is an old Sussex variety first recorded in 1826 (JRHS) and not known in Britain after the end of the 19th century. It is a very late ripening dessert apple, medium to large in size, flattened round, with pale green skin, turning gold, overlaid with many pink flecks and broader scarlet streaks. It is quite an attractive apple. The apple is heavy, with dense flesh that is sweet rich and juicy when ripe, but keeps a lot of sharpness until that time. Some who like a sharp apple will enjoy this before fully ripe. Others must wait until late in the year. Pollination Group 4

CAPTAIN PALMER An old and very good Norfolk dessert apple, of uncertain age. We were given scions by John and Helen Hempsall of Nottinghamshire, who acquired it from the old Ranworth Nursery. It came with a reported origin in 1620, but this seems an implausibly precise and early date and other modern sources put the date at pre 1900, with an origin as a seedling from Gissing, near Diss, Norfolk. It is ripe at the end of September to mid October and will still be in good condition in early December, under good storage. The uniformly rounded apple has clear skin of pale yellow, blushed light amber. The flesh is sweet, crisp, juicy and crunchy with a very pleasing flavour. Free spurring and a good cropper. Pollination Group 5

CARLISLE CODLIN A highly respected and much planted cooking apple from Cumbria. The earliest historical reference to it was in a list of Alexander Forbes, gardener at Levens Hall Nursery, Kendal, Cumberland, in 1820. Perhaps the most complete and colourful description comes from Hogg. ‘Fit for use when no larger than a walnut, and after attaining their growth continuing in perfection as late as Christmas. If blanched in warm water, when used small, the outer rind slips off and they may be baked whole; their colour is then a transparent green; and their flavour is exquisite, resembling that of a green apricot. When it is about the size of a large nutmeg, it may be made into apple marmalade, or a dried sweetmeat, which rivals the finest Portugal plum’. John Turner, Assistant Secretary to the London Horticultural Society, said, in a report in 1819, of apples exhibited in 1818, “This, though not large, is a most desirable kitchen apple, possessing a very superior flavour when dressed. It has a peculiar quality in being fit for tarts and for codling in its most early state.” The mature fruit is angular on the sides and flat at the base. The skin is smooth, 'unctuous' and pale yellow, with a few russet specks. The flesh is tender, crisp and juicy, 'with a fine, brisk, and sugary flavour'. An abundant cropper and a modest sized tree. Pollination Group 3

CAROLINE Said to be a dual purpose apple, dating from before 1822, but it is not a willing cooking apple. It is believed to have originated in the garden of the second Lord Suffield of Blickling and Gunton Hall, Norfolk and was named after his wife, Caroline, Lady Suffield. It was in the London Horticultural Society collection in 1826. The apples are medium sized, deep yellow when ripe with streaks of bright crimson, round and slightly flattened. The flesh is firm, juicy, very richly flavoured and, when fully ripe, is a very sweet and pleasant dessert apple, with hardly any acid. It has also been used as a sharp/bittersharp cider apple, when gathered under ripe. It ripens in October and November but does not last well, without becoming mealy. Our thanks to John and Helen Hempsall for sending scion-wood. Pollination Group 5

CASSOP WAYFARER Every now and then we learn of a single ancient apple or pear tree whose location makes no sense because it is far from dwellings or old orchards, until we observe that it lies on some ancient way and was surely planted or left to flourish as a wilding to provide food to ancient travellers or to be a marker along the route. This is just such a tree and we first learned of it when Ann Copeman sent us details and photos in 2020. Cassop and Cassop Vale are quite close to Durham City. The tree is at the very edge of a farmer’s field and enclosed by a fence, the tree overhanging the ancient travellers’ route adjacent. We say ‘is’ but the tree was brought down in November 2021 by Storm Arwen and fell across the route. We did not know the fate of this tree, but it would surely have had to be cut back from the ancient route leaving little if any remaining. Storm Arwen was particularly cruel to County Durham as the crown of the Croxdale Crab was broken off, though it survives and is re-growing. The Cassop tree was about 10 foot in girth at the base, hollow, with a large bushy crown and a huge crop of fruit when Ann first encountered it. The fruits were smallish, mostly yellow and with a delicious cidery taste, the scent pervading the whole area. The cows in the field had eaten as much as they could, and the ancient way was carpeted with apples. The tree was over 40 feet tall. Ann researched both the area and the ancient travellers’ route, between the port of Hartlepool and the city of Durham, part of the network of waymarked Northern Saints’ Trails, which converge on Durham Cathedral. King Canute is recorded passing this way in the year 1020, and pilgrims both from, and to, the continent would have taken this path, along with merchants etc. Cassop Vale is thought to derive its name from the Anglo Saxon for ‘valley of the wild cat’, once the hunting grounds of Durham’s powerful Prince Bishops. It is now an SSSI. Ann has “always thought of this tree as the Wayfarer’s Apple, rooted in its place, giving fruit and shelter to the multifarious tide of travellers and itinerants who made their ways past it through the centuries”. Ann has suggested the name of Cassop Wayfarer, which seems perfect to us. Ann sent us apples in early November 2020 by which time most were bruised and going off. They were rather small, but the tree was having a major crop and had not been pruned for many years, so we would expect the apples to be larger when grown normally. They were yellow, some a bit oblong and probably at their best a few weeks before. They were going softish but were still juicy and very good – lemony and sweet with a rather unusual but pleasing flavour. This apple will be very good when larger and fresher and the scent is very strong, as Ann observed. The tree was so close to the corner of the field and fence that there would have been almost nothing left of the trunk once the public path was cleared. We hoped that the owner had not removed what remained. Though the old trunk was dead and decayed on one half, there was living cambium within, which had rounded off and would have become new trunks. The other half of the trunk was still alive and could also have generated new trunks. There was not enough space for the trunk to fall and root again from it. This ancient tree was feared lost. Thankfully, Ann had sent cuttings for grafting in early 2021 and though she was only able to reach some very old, thin wood, hardly likely to succeed in grafting, we performed our usual miracles and thanks to Ann the apple variety, at least, was safe for posterity. However, the original tree lives on! Ann recently returned to Durham and visited the tree. She sent us more photos. The owner had very astutely left the remains of the split and decayed trunk which contained the rounded off, detached and regrowing new trunk, within the old trunk. The old trunk still leans at a precarious angle and should be propped securely to avoid future wind and gravity damage to the re-growing small new trunk, but given time the original tree should return to a new and long life. It would already appear to be over 200 years old. It still has a very extensive root system and should grow very rapidly. We hope to post the many photos that Ann sent of this tree on our website, in a wider article. The owner of this tree has been hard to discover but if they should read this and wish to get in touch (or anyone else with knowledge of this tree) then we would love to hear. Poll ?

		CALVILLE ROUGE D’ÉTÉ A very ancient apple, probably French, and one subject to much confusion over the centuries, which has acquired nearly 150 synonyms. It has been suggested that it might even be the ‘Syrique’ of Pliny in the 1st century, though this is unlikely. It first settled with the name of Calville Rouge D’Été, in France in the 17th century, though it is believed to be 16th century. It was first known in England with the name Red Calvil in the 17th century. By the 18th century it received several references in Britain under different names, such as Summer Calville. J.Gibson in ‘The Fruit-Gardener: Containing The Method of Raising Stocks…’ in 1768, says for both summer calvilles (white and red) “the trees are rather delicate, and apt to suffer from the colds in Spring that so frequently happen in Scotland. They are tolerably good bearers”. The Reverend William Hanbury of Church-Langton, Leicestershire, in ‘A Complete Body of Planting and Gardening’ in 1770 says, under Summer Calville “is a fine large fruit, elegantly stained with red on the side next the sun. It ripens soon after the former (Summer Rembourge), and is in great request for the table.” Also writing of both were Rogers (1837), Scott (1872) and Hogg (1884). Ronalds and Lindley (both 1831) wrote only of Calville Rouge D’Été. The great French pomologist, Duhamel, writing in 1768 in ‘Traité des arbres fruitiers’ described Calville Rouge D’Été (under Calville D’Été) as being globular, a little conical, and with slightly prominent ribs the length of the fruit. Its skin is pale red, almost all over, with a few long streaks of a deeper colour, especially in the sun. The flesh is snowy white, with scent a little sourish and quite pleasant, but tending to become woolly when past its ripeness, at the end of July or early August. Lindley, Scott and Hogg had broadly similar descriptions with the suspicion that the last two borrowed from the first. They seem to think of it as it a culinary apple, though Ronalds had said it was a rich dessert apple. The fruit is medium sized, conical and ribbed, (though the ribbing can vary), with a prominent eye, which is small and set in a narrow crinkled basin. The stalk is an inch or more long in a deep narrow cavity. The skin is yellowish white in the shade, with thin streaks of red, and pale red (or shining crimson) in the sun, with darker streaks and some writers say there are prominent spots or lenticels. The flesh is white, sometimes tinged with red, tender, crisp and has a hint of strawberries. Fruit is ripe from July to August. It was not mentioned in Britain after the 19th century, and appeared to have been lost here, though it has still been known in Europe and in America. In 2010 we obtained scions from America and the fruit from our trees are fully in accord with Duhamel. A very good dual purpose apple, for an early fruit. Pollination Group 4.
		CALVILLE ROUGE PRÉCOCE An old French apple first known in England in 1826. It has wrongly been assumed to be only a synonym of Reinette Rouge Étoilée in recent times. Scions were brought to us by Nick Houston, who was close to the Allgrove family at Middle Green, Buckinghamshire. The famous Allgrove’s Nursery never listed this apple, but Jim Allgrove grafted a dozen trees and Nick Houston rescued cuttings when Jim Allgrove died and the nursery closed. A bright red, round and uniform apple, ripening earlier than Calville Rouge D’Automne, often in late August but usually in September. It is a good eating apple –crunchy and juicy, with a good flavour, which also cooks well, to a sweet yellow purée. It is often tinted red under the skin. The apples last for a couple of months. Pollination Group 4
		CAMBRIDGE PIPPIN An old variety and old tree, owned by Alan and Ann Herring of Pavenham, Bedford, who brought apples to us in 2006. It is not the ‘lost’ Cambridge Pippin of Thomas Rivers and not the Cambridge Pippin that is a synonym of Bedfordshire Foundling. Their house was built in the 1760s and always had an orchard attached. The tree appears to be at least 100 years old, though possibly very old. The name of this apple was passed on by a family friend, Mr Horace Church, who died several years ago in his mid-eighties. He was a countryman and smallholder, very precise in his knowledge and naming of fruit varieties. He knew the orchard in 1910 as a child and told a good tale of how, during World War I, he scared birds from the fruit with gravel in his shotgun. Being under-age, he was allowed powder but not shot! In our previous catalogue we have suggested that this apple is only for culinary use, being a bit sharp. However, in some years, if left late before picking, it becomes a very good eating apple, with sweet, rich, juicy flesh, especially after storing for a while. As a cooking apple it needs little or no sugar or water and quickly purées in a pan or under light microwave. A medium, sometimes large, green apple, turning yellow when kept and sometimes developing pale amber flecks. It is ripe from late-September to late October and will stay juicy and keep its flavour to the end of the year. Pollination Group 4

		CAMBRIDGE QUEENING Known since the start of the 20th century but older, and believed to be from Cambridge, Gloucestershire. A culinary and dessert apple that has also been used as a cider ‘sharp’. In most years it might not develop fully into a good eating apple, but seems to be inclined to do so in our hotter summers, when, in October, it is sweet and with an excellent flavour, though not that juicy. It can be used earlier as a juicy cider apple. When cooked it softens quickly and completely, with a good flavour and no need for added sugar. The fruit varies in shape, sometimes it is irregular and ribbed, sometimes more rounded, with striking stripes, flecks and patches of dark red. Patches of russet are variable. The fruit will last into January, remaining sweet. Pollination Group 5

		CAMBUSNETHAN PIPPIN There are different provenances for this old and excellent Scottish apple. Hogg said that it originated at the ancient Cambusnethan Monastery in Stirlingshire, and that it was much valued in Scotland, where it was called ‘Cam'nethan Pippin'. Bunyard said it arose around 1750 when raised by Mr Paton, gardener at Cambusnethan House, Stirlingshire. The local distinctiveness charity ‘Common Ground’ have suggested it was raised near Wishaw in Clydesdale, Lanarkshire. It could be a quite ancient apple. Both Hogg and Bunyard suggest it is less suited to southern Britain where it may be second rate, but we contest that. It is excellent with us. A small to medium sized apple with pale lemon yellow skin and broken crimson streaks on the side next to the sun, sometimes with an orange flush. There is some russet over the base and around the stalk. It has a distinctive wide, open eye. The flesh is 'tender and juicy, with a mild acidity', according to Hogg. This does not do it justice. The flavour is very rich, sweet, juicy and with a perfect balance of acid. It has been used in cooking, but it is really a full dessert apple. In Scotland it is ripe in October and stores to January, while in the south it is often ripe in late September and lasts only to Christmas. Part tip bearing, but quite willing to form spurs. Pollination Group 5
		CAPPER’S PEARMAIN Another old apple, extinct in Britain but reintroduced by us from the Grove Research Station, Tasmania, collection of Heritage Apples in 2005. It is an old Sussex variety first recorded in 1826 (JRHS) and not known in Britain after the end of the 19th century. It is a very late ripening dessert apple, medium to large in size, flattened round, with pale green skin, turning gold, overlaid with many pink flecks and broader scarlet streaks. It is quite an attractive apple. The apple is heavy, with dense flesh that is sweet rich and juicy when ripe, but keeps a lot of sharpness until that time. Some who like a sharp apple will enjoy this before fully ripe. Others must wait until late in the year. Pollination Group 4
		CAPTAIN PALMER An old and very good Norfolk dessert apple, of uncertain age. We were given scions by John and Helen Hempsall of Nottinghamshire, who acquired it from the old Ranworth Nursery. It came with a reported origin in 1620, but this seems an implausibly precise and early date and other modern sources put the date at pre 1900, with an origin as a seedling from Gissing, near Diss, Norfolk. It is ripe at the end of September to mid October and will still be in good condition in early December, under good storage. The uniformly rounded apple has clear skin of pale yellow, blushed light amber. The flesh is sweet, crisp, juicy and crunchy with a very pleasing flavour. Free spurring and a good cropper. Pollination Group 5
		CARLISLE CODLIN A highly respected and much planted cooking apple from Cumbria. The earliest historical reference to it was in a list of Alexander Forbes, gardener at Levens Hall Nursery, Kendal, Cumberland, in 1820. Perhaps the most complete and colourful description comes from Hogg. ‘Fit for use when no larger than a walnut, and after attaining their growth continuing in perfection as late as Christmas. If blanched in warm water, when used small, the outer rind slips off and they may be baked whole; their colour is then a transparent green; and their flavour is exquisite, resembling that of a green apricot. When it is about the size of a large nutmeg, it may be made into apple marmalade, or a dried sweetmeat, which rivals the finest Portugal plum’. John Turner, Assistant Secretary to the London Horticultural Society, said, in a report in 1819, of apples exhibited in 1818, “This, though not large, is a most desirable kitchen apple, possessing a very superior flavour when dressed. It has a peculiar quality in being fit for tarts and for codling in its most early state.” The mature fruit is angular on the sides and flat at the base. The skin is smooth, 'unctuous' and pale yellow, with a few russet specks. The flesh is tender, crisp and juicy, 'with a fine, brisk, and sugary flavour'. An abundant cropper and a modest sized tree. Pollination Group 3

		CAROLINE Said to be a dual purpose apple, dating from before 1822, but it is not a willing cooking apple. It is believed to have originated in the garden of the second Lord Suffield of Blickling and Gunton Hall, Norfolk and was named after his wife, Caroline, Lady Suffield. It was in the London Horticultural Society collection in 1826. The apples are medium sized, deep yellow when ripe with streaks of bright crimson, round and slightly flattened. The flesh is firm, juicy, very richly flavoured and, when fully ripe, is a very sweet and pleasant dessert apple, with hardly any acid. It has also been used as a sharp/bittersharp cider apple, when gathered under ripe. It ripens in October and November but does not last well, without becoming mealy. Our thanks to John and Helen Hempsall for sending scion-wood. Pollination Group 5
		CASSOP WAYFARER Every now and then we learn of a single ancient apple or pear tree whose location makes no sense because it is far from dwellings or old orchards, until we observe that it lies on some ancient way and was surely planted or left to flourish as a wilding to provide food to ancient travellers or to be a marker along the route. This is just such a tree and we first learned of it when Ann Copeman sent us details and photos in 2020. Cassop and Cassop Vale are quite close to Durham City. The tree is at the very edge of a farmer’s field and enclosed by a fence, the tree overhanging the ancient travellers’ route adjacent. We say ‘is’ but the tree was brought down in November 2021 by Storm Arwen and fell across the route. We did not know the fate of this tree, but it would surely have had to be cut back from the ancient route leaving little if any remaining. Storm Arwen was particularly cruel to County Durham as the crown of the Croxdale Crab was broken off, though it survives and is re-growing. The Cassop tree was about 10 foot in girth at the base, hollow, with a large bushy crown and a huge crop of fruit when Ann first encountered it. The fruits were smallish, mostly yellow and with a delicious cidery taste, the scent pervading the whole area. The cows in the field had eaten as much as they could, and the ancient way was carpeted with apples. The tree was over 40 feet tall. Ann researched both the area and the ancient travellers’ route, between the port of Hartlepool and the city of Durham, part of the network of waymarked Northern Saints’ Trails, which converge on Durham Cathedral. King Canute is recorded passing this way in the year 1020, and pilgrims both from, and to, the continent would have taken this path, along with merchants etc. Cassop Vale is thought to derive its name from the Anglo Saxon for ‘valley of the wild cat’, once the hunting grounds of Durham’s powerful Prince Bishops. It is now an SSSI. Ann has “always thought of this tree as the Wayfarer’s Apple, rooted in its place, giving fruit and shelter to the multifarious tide of travellers and itinerants who made their ways past it through the centuries”. Ann has suggested the name of Cassop Wayfarer, which seems perfect to us. Ann sent us apples in early November 2020 by which time most were bruised and going off. They were rather small, but the tree was having a major crop and had not been pruned for many years, so we would expect the apples to be larger when grown normally. They were yellow, some a bit oblong and probably at their best a few weeks before. They were going softish but were still juicy and very good – lemony and sweet with a rather unusual but pleasing flavour. This apple will be very good when larger and fresher and the scent is very strong, as Ann observed. The tree was so close to the corner of the field and fence that there would have been almost nothing left of the trunk once the public path was cleared. We hoped that the owner had not removed what remained. Though the old trunk was dead and decayed on one half, there was living cambium within, which had rounded off and would have become new trunks. The other half of the trunk was still alive and could also have generated new trunks. There was not enough space for the trunk to fall and root again from it. This ancient tree was feared lost. Thankfully, Ann had sent cuttings for grafting in early 2021 and though she was only able to reach some very old, thin wood, hardly likely to succeed in grafting, we performed our usual miracles and thanks to Ann the apple variety, at least, was safe for posterity. However, the original tree lives on! Ann recently returned to Durham and visited the tree. She sent us more photos. The owner had very astutely left the remains of the split and decayed trunk which contained the rounded off, detached and regrowing new trunk, within the old trunk. The old trunk still leans at a precarious angle and should be propped securely to avoid future wind and gravity damage to the re-growing small new trunk, but given time the original tree should return to a new and long life. It would already appear to be over 200 years old. It still has a very extensive root system and should grow very rapidly. We hope to post the many photos that Ann sent of this tree on our website, in a wider article. The owner of this tree has been hard to discover but if they should read this and wish to get in touch (or anyone else with knowledge of this tree) then we would love to hear. Poll ?