Apple Trees from Bernwode Fruit Trees. Old Traditional Varieties 5.

BEAUTY OF HANTS A seedling of Blenheim Orange, raised near Southampton, Hants, by Mrs Crabbe in her garden at Bassett before 1850. It is similar in appearance to Blenheim but redder and sweeter. This late dessert apple has sweet firm flesh and stores until January. More freely spurring than Blenheim, so it is a better option for espaliers and cordons. The apples can be significantly larger than Blenheim.

BEAUTY OF KENT A late culinary apple, known since 1790. It was a firm Victorian favourite on account of its large size, though its irregular appearance restricted its commercial favour. Strong, vigorous trees bear juicy, perfumed fruit which needs little sugar when cooked. By December it is sweet enough to eat for dessert. Good crops.

BECKLEY RED - There are two quite different Beckley Red apples, which were unknown to any except the owners, until 2006, when we discovered both in the same day. They are in adjacent gardens in Horton cum Studley, close to Oxford. The village of Beckley is two miles away but the name, despite enquiry, seems unknown there. The two gardens concerned are opposite the mediaeval Studley Priory and investigation suggests they may once have been part of an attached orchard. There are several old fruit trees there. Both owners were told by their predecessors that their apple was called Beckley Red. Both are stunning red and have an equal claim to the name.

BECKLEY RED (BEW) Owned by Mr and Mrs Freddie Bew, their tree was substantially old when they arrived half a century ago. The medium sized apple is unusually oval, with flattened ends, regular and smooth, heavily covered with glossy dark crimson and with the hint of darker stripes, over a pale yellow skin. It is usually first ripe in early September and keeps to the end of the year. The flesh is very white, firm, not particularly juicy but tender, a little sharp, and with some sweetness. When cooked it does not immediately respond to traditional uses, and may have been one of those used for drying. The flavour is sharp and aromatic. A very striking apple.

BECKLEY RED (HOLCROFT) Owned by John and Judy Holcroft, the tree looks a good century old. It is an early season apple, not keeping beyond September, medium sized, flat, round and almost all covered with deep glossy red, over a green skin. It is crisp, sweet and with a rich flavour. The flesh is heavily streaked and flushed with carmine.

BÉDAN-DES-PARTS A Norman cider apple imported by the Woolhope Club of Hereford in 1884, and widely used in the Herefordshire cider industry, though it also became widely grown in Somerset. According to Hogg it became the most highly regarded cider variety of the time because of the richness and colour of the juice. It was raised by Monsieur M. Legrand of Yvetot and first fruited in 1874. It is a late bittersweet with juicy, small, irregular conical fruits. The skin is pale yellow/green, flushed red in the sun. It was last recorded at the Apple and Pear Conference of 1934 and appears to have been lost in Britain. USDA received it from Calvados in 1937 and sent it to us in 2005. Spur bearing.

BEDFORDSHIRE FOUNDLING A large cooker which arose around 1800, with yellow skin, flushed orange. The flesh keeps its shape when cooked and has a full, rich flavour. It crops well, is ripe in October and stores until March. Vigorous, spreading trees.

BEISLY CODLING An old variety introduced to us by the owner of an old tree, Marian Volins of Wallingford, Oxfordshire. It is not a variety whose name can now be ascertained, so it has been renamed Beisly Codling after her grandfather, Mr Beisly, a watchmaker whose house and shop was in Old Wallingford town. The old properties originated from the 1600s and back on to the site of the derelict Norman castle, destroyed by Cromwell. The current house on the same site, owned by Marian Volins, was built in the 1850s and the tree could have been planted then or perhaps predated the building. Her family have been there for over 100 years. Her grandmother just called it ‘the Codling’ or ‘Catshead’, though it is not the Catshead of modern knowledge. The tree is probably 100-150 years old, and has changed little for the past 80 years. An excellent apple, ripening over a period in August though not dropping. It purees quickly, needing no sugar, and is good to eat fresh when kept, though it does not keep for long. Some apples are still in good condition on the tree in mid-October. A profuse bearer and a really good old fashioned apple. Thanks, to Marian Volins, for keeping it going.

BELLEDGE PIPPIN First recorded in 1818, it was in the London Horticultural Society catalogues of 1826 and 1842, and described by Ronalds, Lindley and Hogg. It still exists in the National Collection and in private collections. Descriptions are mostly consistent, though Lindley says it is ‘free from angles’ and the National Apple Register calls it ‘slightly ribbed’. Said to be local to Derbyshire, it is a small to medium sized, round fruit, narrowing at the crown and with green skin, ripening to yellow with grey russet flecks. It becomes flushed with brown in the sun. The flesh is ‘greenish-yellow, tender, soft, brisk, sugary, and aromatic', according to Hogg. Ripe in October and storing to February. Dual purpose.