Lord Lambourne

Origin and History

Lord Lambourne is a renowned dessert apple raised by the Laxton Brothers of Bedford (Edward and William, sons of Thomas Laxton from Stamford) in 1907 and first introduced to market in 1921, when it was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society cup for Best Seedling Apple. It went on to win the Bunyard Cup that same year and an RHS Award of Merit in 1925. Lord Lambourne is a cross between James Grieve and Worcester Pearmain and was named after a past RHS president. It became popular for smaller gardens owing to its compact size and decorative, dusky-pink blossom, but is now comparatively uncommon.

Fruit

The fruit is medium to large in size and regular in shape. The skin is green, flushed light crimson with deeper red stripes and specks and patches of russeting. The pale russet lenticels are very noticeable. The skin goes greasy in store. The creamy-white flesh is crisp and juicy with a rich, aromatic flavour.

Picking, Storing and Using

The fruit is ready to pick in September and will store for about two months.

Growth, Flowering and Pollination

The tree is compact and only moderately vigorous yet crops well. It sometimes develops an unusual weeping habit. The variety dislikes wet climates. Although Lord Lambourne is partly self-fertile it does better with a pollinator, such as Charles Ross, Keswick Codlin, Laxton’s Fortune or Lord Hindlip.

Lord Lambourne has two siblings which share the

same parentage - Katy and Elton Beauty. Lord Lambourne is the odd one out of the three, since Katy and Elton Beauty both have the sharp zing of James Grieve and the summery, strawberry flavours of Worcester Pearmain. Lord Lambourne offers quite a different taste experience, with more depth and subtlety, closer to one of its likely grandparents, Cox’s Orange Pippin.

Painting 'Blossom Series - Lord Lambourne' by Victoria Brown ©, painted during her Blossom Project arts residency in Chaddesden, Derby and at the National Trust's Hardwick Hall.