Cobham
AppleCobham
Origin / History
From Kent, England. Said to have been raised at Sittingbourne by a Mr. Pope, about 1790; introduced to notice about 1828. Bunyard (1920): "It is now little grown, and hardly equal to Blenheim Orange, as stated by Dr. Hogg."
Tree
Tree hardy, vigorous, and productive; growth stout, moderate, very fertile (Bunyard). Leaf rather large, roundish, dark, flat, sharply curved serrate (Bunyard).
Fruit
Size: Medium to large; medium, 3⅛ by 2⅜ (Bunyard).
Form: Roundish oblate; roundish-square, uneven (Bunyard).
Stem: Rather short.
Cavity: Wide, russeted.
Calyx: Eye closed.
Basin: Shallow, uneven.
Skin: Dull yellowish green with faint red in the sun and some light russet (Downing); golden-yellow with a brown-red flush and faint red stripes (Bunyard).
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: Pale yellow to yellow; crisp or firm; juicy. Saccharine, aromatic; of good flavor.
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
November to February. Downing (from Lindley) gives November, December; Bunyard gives December to February.
Uses
Dessert.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 4 catalogs (1900–1913) from England, Illinois
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900 — listed as Cobham, or Pope's
- 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
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Cobham.
From Kent, England. Tree hardy, vigorous, and productive.
Fruit medium to large, roundish oblate, dull yellowish green, faint red in the sun, some light russet. Flesh pale yellow, crisp, saccharine, aromatic. November, December. (Lind.)
[Additional entry in this volume: "Pope", pp. 334–334]
Pope. Pope's Apple. This is described by Hogg as originating in Kent, England, and there highly esteemed. The tree an early and abundant bearer. Fruit large, roundish oblate conical, clear yellow, with patches of green, dark dots and streaks of red in the sun. Flesh yellowish, sugary, juicy, rich, and excellent. November to March.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)COBHAM. (Pope's Golden Ducat.) Dessert, December to February, medium, 3⅛ by 2⅜, roundish-square, uneven. Colour, golden-yellow with brown-red flush and faint red stripes. Flesh, firm, yellow, juicy and of good flavour. Eye closed in a shallow, uneven basin. Stem, rather short in a wide russet cavity. Growth, stout, moderate, very fertile. Leaf, rather large, roundish, dark, flat, sharply curved serrate. Origin, said to have been raised in Sittingbourne, by a Mr. Pope, about 1790. Introduced to notice about 1828. It is now little grown, and hardly equal to Blenheim Orange, as stated by Dr. Hogg.