Devonshire Quarrenden
Apple
Devonshire Quarrenden
Origin/History
The Devonshire Quarrenden is supposed to be a very old variety, but there is no record of it previous to 1693, when it is mentioned by Ray. It seems to have been unknown to Switzer, Langley, and Miller; and, except by Mortimer, it is not noticed by any subsequent writer until within a very recent period. The only early catalogue in which it is mentioned is that of Miller and Sweet, of Bristol, in 1790. It does not appear to have been grown in any of the London nurseries until the beginning of the nineteenth century. It is of English origin.
Tree
The tree attains a considerable size, is particularly hardy, and a most prolific bearer. It succeeds well in almost every soil and situation, and is admirably adapted for orchard planting. It grows in perfect health and luxuriance in almost every latitude of Great Britain, from Devonshire to the Moray Frith.
Fruit
Size: Rather below medium size (Herefordshire Pomona); scarcely of medium size (Downing). Thomas describes it simply as medium, which is slightly at odds with the other two sources.
Form: Oblate and sometimes a little angular in its outline (Herefordshire Pomona); roundish, flattened, and slightly narrowed at the eye (Downing); roundish-oblate (Thomas).
Stem: About three-quarters of an inch long, fleshy at the insertion, deeply set in a round funnel-shaped cavity.
Cavity: Round and funnel-shaped.
Calyx: Quite closed, with very long tomentose segments.
Basin: Undulating and shallow, sometimes knobbed, and generally lined with thick tomentum.
Skin: Smooth and shining, entirely covered with deep purplish red (Herefordshire Pomona) — described by Downing as rich deep crimson, with lighter crimson, and sprinkled with numerous green dots. Where the fruit is shaded by a leaf or twig, it is of a delicate pale green, presenting a clear and well-defined outline of the shading object (Herefordshire Pomona).
Flesh and Flavor: White tinged with green (Herefordshire Pomona); nearly white (Downing). Crisp, brisk, and very juicy, with a rich vinous and refreshing flavour (Herefordshire Pomona); crisp and juicy, with a pleasant subacid flavor (Downing). Rated Good.
Season
Ripens on the tree in the first week of August and lasts until the end of September (Herefordshire Pomona). Ripe during all of August and September (Downing). Late summer (Thomas).
Uses
A very valuable and first-rate dessert apple. Throughout Herefordshire the Devonshire Quarrenden is the pride of many a cottage garden, and the richly-coloured fruit which loads its boughs is a source of considerable profit to the good housewife. The fruit is generally larger in size in Herefordshire than in its native county of Devon.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 4 catalogs (1897–1917) from England
- Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917
View original book sources (3)
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)Plate III.
- DEVONSHIRE QUARRENDEN.
[Syn. : Quarrington; Red Quarrenden ; Sack Apple.]
The Devonshire Quarrenden is supposed to be a very old variety, but there is no record of it previous to 1693, when it is mentioned by Ray. It seems to have been unknown to Switzer, Langley, and Miller; and, except by Mortimer, it is not noticed by any subsequent writer till within a very recent period. The only early catalogue in which it is mentioned is that of Miller and Sweet, of Bristol, in 1790. It does not seem to have been grown in any of the London nurseries until the beginning of the present century.
Description.—Fruit ; rather below medium size, oblate and sometimes a little angular in its outline. Skin ; smooth and shining, entirely covered with deep purplish red, except where it is shaded by a leaf or twig, and then it is of a delicate pale green, presenting a clear and well-defined outline of the object which shades it. Eye ; quite closed with very long tomentose segments, and placed in an undulating and shallow basin, which is sometimes knobbed, and generally lined with thick tomentum. Stalk ; about three-quarters of an inch long, fleshy at the insertion, deeply set in a round funnel-shaped cavity. Flesh ; white tinged with green, crisp, brisk, and very juicy, with a rich vinous and refreshing flavour.
A very valuable and first-rate dessert apple. It ripens on the tree in the first week of August, and lasts till the end of September.
The tree attains a considerable size, is particularly hardy, and a most prolific bearer. It succeeds well in almost every soil and situation, and is admirably adapted for orchard planting. It grows in perfect health and luxuriance in almost every latitude of Great Britain, from Devonshire to the Moray Frith. Throughout Herefordshire the Devonshire Quarrenden is the pride of many a cottage garden, and the richly-coloured fruit which loads its boughs is a source of considerable profit to the good housewife. The fruit too is generally larger in size in Herefordshire than in its native county.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Devonshire Quarrenden.
Red Quarrenden. Sack Apple.
An English fruit, scarcely of medium size, roundish, flattened, and slightly narrowed at the eye. Skin rich deep crimson, with lighter crimson, sprinkled with numerous green dots. Flesh nearly white, crisp, juicy, with a pleasant subacid flavor. Good. Ripe during all August and September.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Devonshire Quarrenden. Medium, roundish-oblate, crimson; crisp, sub-acid. Late summer. English.