Old Varieties

Celebrating and remembering old fruit and vegetable varieties

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Adams Apples

Apple – Ellison’s Orange

The Ellison’s Orange apple  was raised by the Reverend. C.C. Ellison at Bracebridge and Mr. Wipf, gardener at Hartsholme Hall in Lincolnshire, England.

Ellison's Orange
Ellison's Orange

First records of the Ellison’s Orange date back to 1904, being introduced by Pennells Nurseries, Lincolnshire in 1911.

The RHS gave it an Award of Merit in 1911 and a First Class Certificate in 1917.

Fruits have soft juicy flesh with a striped red skin.  It is noted to have a rich, strong aniseed flavour when ripe.



Uses: Desert
Parents: Female – Cox’s Orange Pippin x Male – Calville Blanc
Flowers: Mid to late May
Picking: Mid September
Natural Storage: September to October

The Ellison’s orange apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.
Young trees available from Adams Apples




Apple – Ribston Pippin

The Ribston Pippin was raised at Ribston Hall in Yorkshire, England, from seed brought from Rouen in France.  It is thought to have been planted around 1707, receiving it’s first RHS Award of Merit in 1962.

Ribston Pippin
Ribston Pippin

Fruits have a red/yellow flush and the flesh a fine, firm, crisp texture which is juicy with a rich, sweet aromatic flavour.

Uses: Desert
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Early to Mid May
Picking: Late September
Natural Storage: October – January


The Ribston Pippin apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.
Young trees available from Adams Apples




Apple – Scotch Bridget

The Scotch Bridget Apple also known as White Calville, originated in Scotland in 1851.

Scotch Bridget
Scotch Bridget

A culinary apple commonly found in Cumbrian farm orchards, it will produce regularly and crops fairly heavily in Northern Locations.

The fruits have tender, soft flesh, flushed with red.  It has a subacid rich flavour and will not fall when cooked.

When kept until December, the fruit ripens to become a desert apple.



Uses: Culinary
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Mid May
Picking: October
Natural Storage: October – December

The Scotch Bridget apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.
Young trees available from Adams Apples


Apple – Red Ellison’s Orange

The Red Ellison’s Orange is a more highly coloured sport of Ellison”s Orange and was discovered in 1948 in H.C. Selby’s orchard in Walpole St. peter, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

Red Ellison's Orange
Red Ellison's Orange

The Fruits have a soft juicy flesh with a rich and strong aniseed flavour.

Red Ellison’s Orange is a good mid season eating apple.

Uses: Desert
Parents: Female – Cox’s Orange Pippin x Male – Calville Blanc
Flowers: Mid May
Picking: Mid September
Natural Storage: September – October.


The Red Ellison’s Orange apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.
Young trees available from Adams Apples


Bramley’s Seedling

The Bramley’s Seedling apple is a triploid, raised around 1809 – 1813 by Mary Ann Brailsford in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England.

Bramley's Seedling
Bramley's Seedling

It was introduced by Nurseyman H. Merryweather in 1865 and first exhibited in 1876, receiving a First Class certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1893.

By far the most popular culinary apple in the UK and the variety most often found on supermarket shelves.

The fruit is a green/yellow with a strong acid flavour.  A vigorous grower.



Uses: Culinary
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Mid May
Picking: October
Natural Storage: October to March.

The Bramley’s seedling apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.
Young trees available from Adams Apples