Lord Burleigh

Origin / History

Raised in the garden of the Marquis of Exeter, at Burghley, near Stamford. Distributed in 1865 by Mr. Hase, of Peterborough (Bunyard, citing "Her. Pom., 65"). Downing, drawing his description from Hogg, calls it "a new celebrated English dessert Apple, as yet untested here." Bunyard ranks it "one of the best late dessert varieties," and the Veitch catalog of 1911 calls it "very popular as a dessert fruit."

Tree

Growth slender; moderately fertile. Leaf long oval, slightly upfolded, slightly undulated, shallow serrate or nearly crenate (Bunyard).

Fruit

Size: Medium in most accounts. Bunyard alone calls it small, measuring 2¼ by 1¾.

Form: Roundish, slightly oblate or flattened, ribbed; round-conical and irregular (Bunyard).

Stem: Medium (Bunyard).

Cavity: Shallow (Bunyard).

Calyx: Eye nearly closed (Bunyard).

Basin: Shallow, irregular (Bunyard).

Skin: Yellow to pale greenish yellow, with a colored cheek. Downing (after Hogg) gives a bright crimson cheek; Bunyard gives a clear brown-red flush.

Dots: Many russet specks (Downing, after Hogg).

Flesh and flavor: Yellowish to yellow, juicy, sweet. Downing (after Hogg) and the Veitch catalog call the flesh tender; Bunyard calls it firm. Downing gives a "sweet pine-apple flavor," and the Veitch catalog calls it "richly flavoured."

[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the Rivers catalog of 1914 reads "yellow, with a skin pure flavour," apparently a garbled phrase; only the color and "pure flavour" are salvageable.] The Rivers catalog records a "pure flavour."

Core and seeds: Not described in source.

Season

The recorded season runs from October to May, and every dated account ends it in May. Downing (after Hogg) and the Rivers catalog give January to May; the Veitch catalog begins it in October.

Uses

Dessert.

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.