Monarch

Origin and History

Monarch was raised by Messrs Seabrook of Borehamwood in Essex in 1888 and introduced by them in 1918. It is sometimes listed as Seabrook’s Monarch, and is a cross between Peasgood Nonsuch and Dumelow’s Seedling.

Fruit

The fruit is large and has yellow, slightly greasy-feeling skin with a light-red flush and orange stripes.

Picking, Storing and Using

Monarch flowers at the same time as Bramley’s Seedling and is another late-season cooker, but has a sweeter flavour than Bramley. Like many English cooking apples, it was prized for making sauces and purees as the flesh is soft and aromatic. It is also highly recommended for baking as a dessert and for grilling to serve as an accompaniment to pork.

Apples picked in October can be used from November through to January.

Our gardener Helena

recommends baking Monarch with a mincemeat filling for a delicious pudding.

Growth, Flowering and Pollination

Monarch makes a large tree which does particularly well on damper sites and in frost pockets, owing to its late flowering. Although partly self-fertile, Monarch benefits from other pollinators and Allington Pippin, Barnack Beauty and Caroline are among nearby trees that will enhance its pollination.