#81 Yorkshire's Apples and Pears by Clare Langrick
Meet Clare Langrick, Systems Manager at NEYEDC!
This week’s blog has been written by our Systems Manager, Clare Langrick. 2025 is Clare’s 20th anniversary working in Local Environmental Records Centres! She started work on the Humber Estuary, mobilising existing environmental information and organising wintering and breeding bird surveys to identify important areas for migrant and breeding waders, before moving to NEYEDC as their East Yorkshire officer in 2007. Her initial remit at NEYEDC was to establish a survey programme for all 750 of East Yorkshire’s candidate Local Wildlife Sites, many of which were dots on 20-year-old maps! Since then, Clare’s role has expanded to include work on many of NEYEDC’s projects, the most recent being the identification and mapping of Yorkshire’s Important Grassland Fungi Sites, as well as taking a lead in running NEYEDC.
Flower of the Town apple tree - Brian Potter on fruitforum.net
Clare’s chosen subject for her Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species blog is Yorkshire’s varieties of apples and pears. When living in Hessle on the outskirts of Hull, Clare’s neighbour had a wonderful old pear tree, which was prolific at producing fruit, even though it was thought to be contemporary to the house and planted in the 1930’s. Looking like a conference pair, her neighbour had been told that it was in fact a Hessle Pear, a heritage variety that was grown locally in the 19th century. This then led to Clare looking into other heritage varieties of both apples and pears, and the stories behind their origins.
It is widely believed that both cultivated apples and pears were introduced to the British Isles in orchards by the Romans, whilst their native lands are much further east in Asia [1]. Some cite the mountains between China and Kazakhstan as their origin with merchants carrying fruit along the Silk Route to the Balkans, and beyond. By the 13th century orchards and fruit cultivation formed a large part of the rural economy in the British Isles. Fruit trees were cultivated by many rural households, from small country cottage gardens, who would have often relied on apples to pay their rent, to organised orchards in the designed gardens of grand halls and estates.
Ribston Pippin - Taylor (1946) The Apples of England 3rd Edition
Yorkshire may not generally be associated with growing cultivated fruit, but like other regions of the British Isles, it has its fair share of varieties that can claim their ancestry to the region. Probably the most famous Yorkshire heritage apple is the Ribston Pippin, named, like many fruit varieties, after the place it was known to have been cultivated – Ribston Hall on the outskirts of Knaresborough. It is almost certain that this variety is the parent of the world-renowned Cox’s Orange Pippin [2,4]. The date for when the first tree was established at Ribston Hall varies, but the Victorian author and pomologist Hogg, who traced the ancestry of the Ribston Pippin, suggests that in 1688 some apple pips were sent from Rouen in France to Sir Henry Goodricke and planted in the grounds of Ribston Hall. Other sources suggest that Sir Henry himself brough the apple pips back from his honeymoon in Rouen. It is claimed that the at least one of the trees that grew from these pips did not die until 1835, after which a new shoot sprouted out of the trunk and survived until 1928. It has several synonyms, including Glory of York.
Hunthouse apples are a hardy variety of apple that is believed to have originated from the orchard at Hunthouse in Goathland. There is evidence that small orchards in the dales of the North York Moors, like Hunthouse, supplied long-keeping apples to the shipping industry that operated out of local ports, like Whitby. The local story is that Captain James Cook, who came from nearby Whitby, took a supply of these apples on his sea voyages to provide his crew with a source of vitamins to ward off scurvy [3,4].
The Fillingham Pippin was grown by Mr Fillingham from Swanland, East Yorkshire in the early 19th century from seed or cuttings sent from his brother in South America [4].
Another, now uncommon, East Yorkshire variety of eating apple has the wonderful name Flower of the Town (also known as Flowery Town and Redstreak), which was first described in 1831 and can still be found in old farm orchards in Yorkshire [4]. This bright red apple has distinctive ribs towards the eye and has a good account provided by Barry Potter on the Fruit Forum website [5].
There are also a good number of Yorkshire cooking apples, including Hornsea Herring, Dog’s Snout, Grandpa Buxton, Yorkshire Greening (also known as Yorkshire Goosesauce as its puree cuts through the fat of winter goose fat recipes) and Green Balsam. The latter is also referred to by Hogg as the ‘Farmer’s Wife’s Apple’ because it was mainly used in desserts, rather than for cider making [3,4]. Its usage died out when other more productive cooking apples became available from other parts of the country.
Hessle Pear - RV Roger Nursery website
The aforementioned Hessle Pear has been identified as still growing in several gardens in the town – often very old, large trees. First information on this heritage variety of dessert pear dates to 1827, although it is thought to be much older. A hardy variety, suitable for growing in cooler, northern climes, including Scotland, it is quite sweet even though it is a cooking pear, ideal in jams and cakes, including the traditional ‘Hessle Spice Cake’ [6]. Clare can confirm that it is an excellent cooking pear, especially in chutneys!
The Bergamot is a type of pear with confusion in its origins, but with several local varieties across western Europe, including the York Bergamot. A North Yorkshire County Records Office blogpost on Orchards and Fruit Trees by Gail Falkingham in 2021 lists this variety as being planted in the orchard at Brockfield Hall, near Wartill, York in 1804 [7].
Recording and monitoring
Whereas in the 18th and 19th centuries many gardens had fruit trees or orchards (see North Yorkshire County Records Office image of an extract from 6” Ordnance Survey map of 1854 (Sheet 91) showing the numerous orchards to the rear of almost every house in the village of Middleton, near Pickering [5]), the intensification of fruit cultivation has sadly led to many heritage varieties of apple and pear no longer being suitable for commercial use. Therefore, it is up to community orchards, museums and heritage groups to keep these varieties alive. Yorkshire has a good number of community orchards that have focused on growing heritage fruit varieties.
Orchards in Middleton, Pickering - NY County Records
In 2001 the Northern Fruit Group planted the ‘Yorkshire Apple Collection’ at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, comprising 16 varieties of Yorkshire apple. The group continue to expand the orchard at Harewood House, Leeds with northern varieties of apple and pear. One of the group’s aims of is to register old fruit varieties and orchards of the North and advise on orchard care and maintenance.
The Ampleforth Abbey Orchard and Cider Mill has been growing apples for over 200 years and currently houses over 70 varieties, with their re-planting programme and natural husbandry highlighting heritage varieties.
The Northern Fruit Group also helped to establish the 50 varieties of northern fruit found at the Helmsley Walled Garden, which is open to the public.
Between 1998-2000 the East Yorkshire Federation of Women’s Institutes created the Millennium Orchard at Beverley Parks Local Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Beverley, East Yorkshire. With the support of the Northern Fruit Group, northern heritage varieties have been planted, including several local to East Yorkshire like Fillingham Pippin and Hornsea Herring.
The orchard at Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole was planted in 2008 as a direct response to orchards becoming a UK Priority Habitat. Planted with over forty native fruit varieties, many of which have connections to North Yorkshire, the orchard is now a haven for both visitors and wildlife.
Further information and acknowledgements
The Northern Fruit Group continues to support and advise community groups and orchards wishing to cultivate northern fruit varieties.
References:
[1] Taylor, H.V (1946). The Apples of England. 3rd Edition. Crosby Lockwood.
[2] Orange Pippin website (2025). Available at: https://www.orangepippin.com/ (Accessed 15 January 2025).
[3] Traditional Yorkshire Recipes website (2025). Available at: https://traditional-yorkshire-recipes.info/ (Accessed 15 January 2025).
[4] Hawthorne, L. Ed. (2007). The Northern Pomona. Pomona Publications.
[5] Fruit Forum website (2025). Available at: https://www.fruitforum.net/ (Accessed 15 January 2025).
[6] Slow Food in the UK website (2025). Available at: https://www.slowfood.org.uk/ark-product/hessle-pear/ (Accessed 15 January 2025).
[7] North Yorkshire County Records Office: Orchards and Fruit Tress. Available at: https://nycroblog.com/2021/01/29/orchards/ (Accessed 15 January 2025).