Alfriston
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Alfriston
Origin / History
Raised by a Mr. Shepherd at Alfriston, Sussex, about the end of the eighteenth century (E.A. Bunyard, citing Ronalds). Opinions of its standing as a cooking apple diverge. Downing calls it "a third-rate Apple, valued in England for cooking." Veitch ranks it "one of the best kitchen apples," and the George Bunyard catalog calls it "very useful as a late kitchen kind."
Tree
Vigorous, of close growth (George Bunyard catalog), forming a handsome pyramid and a good standard (Veitch). Leaf pea green, flat, undulating, broadly serrate (E.A. Bunyard). Fertile; a free and good bearer.
Fruit
Size: Large to very large, Veitch alone calling it very large. E.A. Bunyard gives 3½ by 2¾.
Form: Round or roundish, conical, flattened, irregular, a little ribbed, and rather broadest at the base.
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Pale greenish yellow, green to yellow, veined with russet (E.A. Bunyard: "green to yellow russet veined").
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: Flesh white, yellowish white, or pale yellow; crisp and tender. Flavor subacid to acid: "brisky acid" (Veitch), "a tolerable, somewhat acid flavor" (Downing). Downing rates it "Good." Cooked, it turns "a tender, golden brown with a delicious pear-like flavour" (E.A. Bunyard).
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
The recorded season runs from October into April. Downing gives October to January. Veitch gives November to April, and E.A. Bunyard says it keeps till April.
Uses
Culinary; a late kitchen apple.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 9 catalogs (1897–1917) from England, Illinois
- Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913 — listed as Baltimore
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917
View original book sources (4)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Alfriston.
Lord Gwydr's Newtown Pippin. Oldaker's New. Shepherd's Pippin. Baltimore, incorrectly.
A third-rate Apple, valued in England for cooking. Fruit large, roundish, a little ribbed, and rather broadest at the base, pale greenish-yellow. Flesh yellowish-white, crisp, tender, with a tolerable, somewhat acid flavor. Good. October to January.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)ALFRISTON. Ronalds p. 35. (Shepherds Pippin, Shepherds Seedling), culinary, keeps till April, large, 3½ by 2¾, round, conical, flattened, irregular. Colour, green to yellow russet veined. Flesh, crisp, pale yellow, sub-acid. Growth, vigorous, fertile. Leaf, pea green, flat undulating, broadly serrate. Origin, raised by a Mr. Shepherd at Alfriston, Sussex, about the end of the eighteenth century. This apple cooks a tender, golden brown with a delicious pear-like flavour.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Fruit Catalogue (1901) (1901)Large, free bearer, very useful as a late kitchen kind; tree of close growth.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)very large, flesh white and brisky acid, one of the best kitchen apples, the tree is a good bearer and forms a handsome pyramid and good standard ... Nov. to April