Allington Pippin

Origin and History

A local Stamford dual-purpose apple, known by a variety of names and raised by Thomas Laxton in 1884 from Cox’s Orange Pippin and King of the Pippins. It was first exhibited in 1889 by W & J Brown of Stamford as Brown’s South Lincoln Beauty and received a Royal Horticultural Society First Class certificate in 1894 under that name. Locally it was sometimes also referred to as South Lincolnshire Pippin. In 1894 it was taken on by George Bunyard, the owner of the Allington Nursery in what is now a suburb of Maidstone, who renamed it Allington Pippin. In the early 20th century it was widely grown in Kent and Cambridgeshire, particularly the Isle of Ely.

Fruit

The fruit is conical and the skin red and orange, attractively flushed and striped with some russeting. The flesh is crunchy and aromatic.

Despite being a comparatively uncommon apple across the country, Allington Pippin is one of the three most popular varieties grown here in Waterfurlong.

Picking, Storing and Using

The fruit is usually best picked towards the end of October. It can be used initially as a culinary apple (it keeps its shape when cooked) but after a few months in store the flavour mellows to an intense fruit-drop or pineapple and Allington Pippin was prized by the Victorians as an unusual eating apple. It is recommended by many apple connoisseurs.

Growth, Flowering and Pollination

Allington Pippin has a tendency to bear good crops only every other year and the blossom is susceptible to frost. It benefits from crops being thinned in heavier years. Allington Pippin is partially self-sterile and does better with a pollinator such as Annie Elizabeth, Keswick Codlin or Lord Lambourne.