The origins of apple Lady's Finger of Bledington

I have received some fascinating information from Derek and Judy Tolman, Bernwode nursery  (November 2015) as a result of my earlier article on Lady's Finger of Bledington. Derek writes that about fifteen years ago he received scionwood of Black Gilliflower from the USDA collection in Geneva, USA. This apple is identical to Lady's Finger of Bledington. Derek believes that the apple has English origins and was taken out to America by settlers. He has not yet discovered any written historical record of the variety in England, but the apple was known in America as early as the 1770's-1780's and Derek suggests that the apple was possibly being grown in England in the 1600's.
  A superb piece of detective work!

Some re-discovered apples and pears

    Since the 1980's we have come across and have identified several "lost" apples and pears in the north .These fruits have been propagated and scionwood distributed. Also, in order to conserve them for future generations we aim to plant them at locations where there is "continuity of care".

   My colleague Hilary Wilson has rescued many Cumbrian apples and I hope to publish more information on her enormous contribution over the years. Some of her "missing " varieties" are in the Sizergh National Trust orchard and they are mentioned in "The Apples and Orchards of Cumbria" written by Andy Gilchrist, our South Lakeland Orchard Group chairman.

  Two rare Lancashire apple varieties are present in the Sizergh orchard, Hargreave's Greensweet and Royal George.

         Hargreave's Greensweet

 

   This apple was offered by a small over Wyre nursery as "Greensweet" when I first came across it in the early 1980's. I bought a maiden tree which subsequently bore fruit but the apples were very different from descriptions of Greensweet in The Apple Register. A few months later I came across "Hargreave's Greensweet" in the Register and the match was made!  The apple is described in The Fruit Manual . In 1846,Dr Hogg visited Hargreave's Nursery in Lancaster and noted a very old tree of this variety. Scionwood was sent to Brogdale in the late 1980's.
  The apple is an early to mid season dessert and when juiced with Keswick Codlin, makes a fine drink!  
                                                                   Royal George

    Royal George in the NFC appears to be quite different from the Lancashire version which is described in "The Apples of England". The  variety was offered by a Forton nursery before the war and I found a single tree in a cottage garden in the village c1999. The late father of the old lady who lived at the address had worked at the nursery and had planted the tree c 1936! Since 1999 apples of Royal George have appeared from an old tree in the nearby village of Scorton.  Royal George is a very large mid season culinary apple and the tree is a vigorous triploid.

   Two trees of Royal George have been planted (2006) within the walled garden at Astley Hall, Chorley in addition to Sizergh.

  To follow- apples "Jenny Lind", "Laxton's Premier", Kane's Seedling" possibles "Queen Mary","Trumpeter".

Scotch Bridget

 

 An attempt to trace the origins of  Scotch Bridget apple

 

For more than 200 years Scotch Bridget has been grown extensively in the NW of England and in parts of the West Midlands, but is seen infrequently east of the Pennines. It is a dual- purpose, triploid apple, “the best for making fruit mincemeat” and it thrives in high rainfall areas of Lancashire and Cumbria.                                                                                  

 My good friend and NFG/SLOG colleague Hilary Wilson has in her possession  some fascinating information provided by Lyth Valley historian Desmond Holmes about its early presence in the Furness district of Lancashire and in Westmorland. In 1781 “Britchet” apple is mentioned in an Account Book of a Daniel Dickinson, tenant farmer from the Witherslack area, a few miles from Grange- over-Sands. At that time Daniel had an established orchard with fourteen other apple varieties recorded. Fruit was sold at Kendal market and in 1780, 3 panniers of apples fetched 5 shillings. One “Brichart” apple was planted at a “New Orchard at Grange” on the 11^th of January 1812 and on March 13^th, 1815, at Grange- over- Sands,four “Bricharts” were “planted on the common near widow Postlethwaite’s (!).” Twelve other apple varieties were also planted. Hilary has carried out much work in this area over the years and says that even today, the apple is always referred to as “Bridget” rather than Scotch Bridget.

Mr Sowman, horticultural superintendent for Lancashire from 1911, mentioned Scotch Bridget in his talk on apples in Preston in 1923. He surmised that the apple “dated back probably 100 years and it would be of interest to find out how the Scotch and Irish names came to be combined in this description”. He was very dismissive of the qualities of Scotch Bridget compared with Proctor’s Seedling, concluding that the former “was not so vigorous in growth, was more wasteful in peeling and cankered badly!”

 

 

PRESTON GUARDIAN- DECEMBER 1917

 

  In the local archives, I came across an interesting article written by the Preston Guardian gardening correspondent in 1913. He claimed that Scotch Bridget was made known by the late Mr Troughton of Walton-le- Dale, Preston “and is now catalogued by nurserymen”. (The Troughtons were involved in the local nursery trade prior to the 1860’s until the 1920’s –they raised apple varieties Gold Medal c.1882 and possibly Troughtons in 1842).The article continues… “I have never heard who the raiser was. It was not raised in Scotland- at any rate I never saw the name in any collection grown there. Any schoolboy raised in Preston will recognise Scotch Bridget when he sees it….!”

 I have discovered two c19 N.W. catalogues which include Scotch Bridget. The apple was offered by J & J Gaitskell of Holmrook, near Whitehaven and by The Knowefield Nurseries of Little & Ballantyne , Carlisle in their  1874 lists. 140 apple varieties appear in the Carlisle catalogue and their qualities described, with the exception of only one or two varieties, including Scotch Bridget. Does this imply that it was a recent acquisition?

There may well be revealing historic documentation about the presence of Scotch Bridget in Scotland. Dr Hogg (The Fruit Manual, 1875) does not mention a Scottish link, describing the fruit as “an excellent culinary apple, much grown in the neighbourhood of Lancaster”.  However, Taylor (The Apples of England, 1948) writes that the variety is “a well-known and much appreciated cooking apple in Scotland and the North of England”. In his “Apples in Scotland” booklet (2001), John Butterworth mentions its presence at several Scottish locations- however the majority of plantings appear to be recent ones. John lists the places of origin of many old Scottish apple varieties e.g.  Carse of Gowrie and Clydesdale, but the entry for Scotch Bridget is “Scotland”, age unknown. The late Forbes W. Robertson, distinguished authority on garden history in Scotland, wrote detailed, informative accounts about fruit growing. In an article entitled “A History of Apples in Scottish Orchards” he lists hundreds of varieties of apples grown in the Carse of Gowrie (early c19), in Clydesdale (1819), at the Experimental Garden of the Caledonian Horticultural Society (1840’s) and  other Scottish locations. There is no record of Scotch Bridget. However our writer did receive information from the Scottish National Trust, namely that Scotch Bridget was in a list of Scottish apples “recorded in the c19 or earlier…still commercially available”. Further investigation is needed here!

 A recent visit to the Manchester Museum herbarium with ecologist Sam Bolton proved to be a rewarding experience. Many boxes of papers, donated in 1910 by the widow of Leo Grindon, eminent Victorian botanist, have yet to be fully catalogued, but Sam had been informed that amongst a huge amount of written material, there were documents relating to fruit growing. I noted a letter written to Leo Grindon on the 21^st of April 1885 from the Mosley Hotel, Manchester, in which the correspondent listed the qualities and location of many apples grown in the N.W. For instance “Nelson’s Glory has been grown over 23oz within four miles of the Manchester Exchange; Mere de Menage is grown very much about Liverpool and Scotch Bridget is a fine and free fruiting apple, raised near Preston."

  In 1894, a “Lancashire” Scotch Bridget was exhibited from Preston and until recently the variety was present in the Brogdale collection. It is listed in The Book of Apples (1993) and Dr Joan Morgan writes that it is impossible to know whether it is the same as Scotch Bridget, as at accession, no descriptions were given. However the Lancashire version was observed to ripen later than its counterpart and to have longer keeping qualities. (M. Crawford, Directory of Apple Cultivars, 1994).

  At the 1883 National Apple Congress held in Chiswick, Scotch Bridget apples were exhibited from Lancashire and Westmorland, but apparently not from Scotland. Intriguingly, there appear to be two sorts! It was observed that “good examples of the old Scotch Bridget were shown, under the name of White Calville.” According to Lytham exhibitor Mr Maries, his White Calville trees were very old and grafted onto crab rootstock. In the accompanying list of “Varieties of Apples suited to Lancashire” selected by Mr Maries and  Mr Hathaway of  Ormskirk, Scotch Bridget (White Calville) and a “Livesey’s Scotch Bridget” appear together!  The Livesey family had a nursery in Leyland during the c19 and like the aforementioned Troughton establishment raised new varieties of fruit; Livesey’s Codlin and Livesey’s Imperial apples originated from their Golden Hill location.

 In conclusion, at this stage attempts to discover the precise origin of Scotch Bridget apple have been largely unsuccessful. I visited an old orchard near Poulton-le-Fylde a number of years ago. The lady of the house informed me that her late father had two Scotch Bridget trees in the garden and he always referred to one of them as Lancashire Scotch Bridget. Unfortunately only one tree remained.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

I did of course take grafting material!

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

                                  

 

Preston Guardian Weekly Newspaper c 1895-1923- Recommended Pear Varieties

 Occasional research –autumn/winter 2012/3.

(There are several reports in the newspaper from 1912 by Alexander Sowman, County  Horticulture Instructor at  Hutton Agricultural College, near Preston, who was a keen pomologist  and who raised Sowman’s  Seedling apple variety,c1914).

Listed below- pear varieties  for  planting in the Preston area.

“Well-known”

Autumn/Winter Nelis; Beurre Sterkman; Beurre Bosc; Beurre Bachelier; Beurre Diel; Beurre d’Amanlis; Beurre Hardy; Beurre Superfin; Catillac; Citron des Carmes; Clapp’s Favourite; Comte de Lamy; Crawford; Dr. Jules Guyot; Doyenne Du Comice; Easter Beurre; Eyewood;  Fertility; Fondante d’Automne; Gansel’s Bergamotte; Glou Morceau; Hessle; Jargonelle; Josephine de Malines; Louis Bonne of Jersey; Marguerite Marillat; Marie Louise; Marie Louise d’Uccle; Napoleon; Olivier des Serres; Williams Bon Chretien.

“Uncommon?”

Cassante de Mars; Yat (Jutte).

Readers were urged to seek out Eyewood and Yat for their superior eating qualities.

Other pears seen in the north-west

Autumn Bergamotte; Bellissime d’Hiver ; Beurre Bronze (stalk does not accord with Hogg!);Beurre Capiaumont; Beurre Clairgeau ; Beurre Gris; Bishop’s Thumb; Doyenne Boussoch; Emile d’Heyst ; Green Chisel (“Jack” pear?); Uvedale’s St Germain.  Many  more.

“Local” Pears

Stone pear (Winter Hacking)- listed but not described in Scott’s Orchardist(1873). Green Slipper- known in different areas of Lancashire; Pig- nosed Pear (Notts);  “Toadback”(Cheshire);Tongue’s Seedling; Walton Weeper ( mentioned in Preston Guardian).

Local names for well-known varieties??

Other “mysteries”

Grafts taken from many as yet unidentified, remnant pear trees in the north – in all probability most will be recognised by the experts, but not by me! As new trees start to bear fruit, details are being recorded, photographs taken.

Anecdotal information –“Sugar pear” present Lyth Valley, Cumbria ; “Ambrosia”  still around N. Yorks 1940. In NW , concentrations of old  orchards south- west of Preston and in south Cumbria.

Some Orchard Activities In The North During The Early C20

           Agricultural colleges played a prominent role in the planting and assessment  of apple and pear varieties at various sites in the north of England from early Edwardian times. We have well- documented evidence of the activities carried out by Newton Rigg College at chosen experimental sites at Brampton, Abbeytown and Wiggonby - enough material for a future article!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  However, I wanted to discover more about Mr A.G.Sowman who introduced Sowman’s Seedling apple at Hutton near Preston in 1914. This was difficult, as Hutton Agricultural College closed in the 1990’s and much archive material appears to have been lost in the transfer of activities to Myerscough. Fortunately, old  articles in the Preston Guardian weekly newspaper have revealed some  valuable information, not only about the man himself, but also about fruit varieties grown and recommended during a period from 1900-1923.

        Records show that Alexander  Sowman was born in Suffolk in 1860. He was appointed horticulture instructor at the County Council Farm at Hutton in 1911. During the war years the department was instrumental in teaching village children in 100 school gardens to grow vital foodstuffs , with emphasis on “the stern necessity of intensive cultivation”. Sowman was in great demand for expert advice from fruit growers and in this role he was “constantly peregrinating the county”. At Hutton, planting beds were laid out for fruit trees and various experiments conducted and observations made concerning  the use of Paradise and Crab rootstock, pruning techniques; the efficacy of manures and artificial fertilizer . Thirty- three varieties of apples were  grafted on to both  rootstocks, many of which fruits are well-known to N.F.G. members, but some “ less  familiar” ones were planted, including Domino, Betty Geeson, Schoolmaster, Hambling’s Seedling and Gloria Mundi. Sowman noted that the last named was carrying magnificent clusters of apples on both Paradise and Crab stock; Winter Greening , Schoolmaster and Wealthy were also performing well in 1916. Two years later Sowman could say that Worcester Pearmain, Lane’s Prince Albert and Manks Codlin justified their inclusion in the orchard and that pear variety Dr. Jules Guyot   was well- suited to the climate of Lancashire.

     In 1918, another three acres of adjoining land were commissioned for the testing of several Canadian apple varieties, but sadly, no names are available. Sowman had approval from the County Agricultural Sub-committee to approach landowners with the aim of establishing stations of about half an acre at different altitudes to ascertain the suitability of varieties in various districts. On the trial grounds Bramley’s Seedling, Lane’s Prince Albert, Grenadier, Worcester Pearmain and Allington Pippin would form the basis of a permanent orchard and other varieties planted to test for adaptability. Some of these others were Scottish, but again no variety details are known. It was intended that these experimental sites should be in North and South Londsdale, Grimsargh, Chipping and at Read, on Sir John Thursby’s estate near Burnley .I have not been able to find out whether  the above locations were ever used with the exception of  Chipping. At a site long since abandoned close to the Trough of Bowland, Proctor’s Seedling , a local apple , was grown amongst the “standard” varieties.

      In 1923 Sowman delivered a lecture, the” Story of Some Lancashire Apples”( and others)with details about Scotch Bridget, Proctor’s Seedling, Lord Suffield , Minchall Crab and a missing variety, Livsey’s Codlin.” The trees of this last named apple were chiefly found in the Leyland and Ulnes Walton district…” In his travels Sowman had found “two remarkable trees of Bess Pool growing within twenty yards of the rise and fall of the tide on the north-west Lancashire coast”. He had high praise for the qualities of Ribston Pippin. A bizarrely named local Lancashire apple variety, “Bang all Europe” is mentioned in the talk, but it lacked quality as a cooker or eater!

        Other interesting variety  information emerged from newspaper research during the period between 1900 and 1923, including the planting of apple Northern Dumpling which appears to have Belgian origins ; a recommendation for Yat  pear which was first raised in Holland in the 1760’s; written confirmation of the existence of local pear Walton Weeper  and an intriguing mystery concerning a culinary apple called Livsey’s Imperial, “raised by the late Mr Livsey of Golden Hill, Leyland.” Livsey’s Imperial is a synonym for both Lord Suffield and Hollandbury, but Mr Livsey’s apple is neither of these. The article states that this apple was so greasy that it had to be grown outside Leyland as sooty deposits from nearby works  “rendered it unsaleable.” Coincidentally , I have a “mystery” apple called Jenny Lind (named after the Swedish singer from Victorian times), described by a farmer from the Leyland area as being “ so greasy that dust stuck to it”. The sole surviving tree was in an orchard west of Preston. Simon Clark can testify to the fragility of the tree when we visited the orchard three or four years ago!

I am sure that much more material will emerge from the archives; I have yet to discover information about Alexander Sowman’s later life.


Article for Northern Fruit Group magazine.

                                      

          

           

My Favourite Apple

(Written for South Lakeland Orchard Group newsletter)

                      The title of this article should be “One of my Favourite Apples” as I find it impossible to exclude   many other worthy contenders!

 

 

                   Lady’s Finger of Bledington   remains on the tree long after the leaves have fallen and when picked and stewed it does not break up and has no noteworthy flavour in the north of England. In the Cotswolds, however,” the fruit ripens in November and the flesh is sweet”. Its spectacular dark maroon colouring and unusual shape always elicits an awed and favourable response when viewed in apple displays. There is a story behind this photogenic apple.

               During the 1940’s Albert Harris, who lived in the Cotswolds, became aware of the apples in the village of Bledington on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border. They were known as “Lady’s Fingers” and surviving trees were on their last legs, having been planted c 1850. Albert set  about  grafting from these dying  trees. The variety was a “local”apple, found only in and around two neighbouring villages.

             In the 1980’s Albert was living in Bletchley and decided to distribute his grafted trees far and wide. He wrote a letter to the Henry Doubleday organic movement magazine, generously  offering  “Lady’s Finger of Lancaster” to anyone interested. I met Albert on Poulton- le- Fylde railway station and exchanged a Hargreaves Greensweet for one of his trees. He had a number  in his possession and was on his way to Carlisle!

          I attended an early Northern Fruit Group Apple Day in the 1990’s and took with me new fruit from Albert’s tree. The apples were very unlike the Lady’s Finger of Lancaster specimens on display.

       I corresponded with Albert and he in turn contacted the RHS in 1998.He had already sent sample apples to the RHS eleven years previously, in the autumn of 1987 and was  informed at that time that  they were “possibly Lady’s Finger of Lancaster”. The second response was quite different …. “these apples are quite distinct from the cultivar we grow as Lady’s Finger of Lancaster  in the Wisley collection. They do not match the description of Lady’s Finger of Lancaster or any other Lady’s Finger apples described”. Scionwood was requested and  subsequently the apple was  added to the RHS orchard collection. The variety had been grown in the local area around the village of Bledington for generations and thanks to Albert’s  efforts, was now safe from extinction.

     In September  I visited an orchard across the road from L’Enclume  with Hilary Wilson and   was astonished to discover  a 25 year old Lady’s Finger of Bledington growing there. Albert had obviously stopped off in Cartmel en route to Carlisle!

Cr 8 upper

Unidentified pear grafted from old Cumbrian orchard. Description to follow.