The Devonshire Quarrenden is a dessert apple cultivar historically grown and probably originating in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, although it has also been suggested as originating in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. A variety of local names and spellings, including "Red Quarrenden", "Quarrington", "Quarender", and the "Sack Apple", have been recorded in the past.

History

The variety has usually been assumed to be very old, though the pomologist Robert Hogg was unable to find any references to it prior to 1693, or to locate it in nurserymens' catalogues before 1790. A slightly earlier reference has however been found in

John Worlidge John Worlidge or John Woolridge (1640–1700) was a noted English agriculturalist, who lived in Petersfield, Hampshire, England. He was considered a great expert on rural affairs, and one of the first British agriculturalists to discuss the import ...

's ''Vinetum Britannicum'', first published in 1676. There are a small number of 15th century references to a "queryndoun", which may refer to a type of apple or pear. It was long associated with

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, where it was particularly common, although it has been proposed that its name is a corruption of

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and that it may have originated there.

Ernest Weekley Ernest Weekley (27 April 1865 – 7 May 1954) was a British philologist, best known as the author of a number of works on etymology. His ''An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' (1921; 850 pages) has been cited as a source by most author ...

suggested that the name may have derived from Carentan or from Quarrendon, a

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

placename; the latter was also suggested by

Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...

. Although locally in cultivation for many years in the West of England, it did not become more widely known until the 19th century, probably after it was introduced to the

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Nursery and Botanic Garden in about 1800. It subsequently became popular for market and was widely grown for commercial purposes up until the 1890s.

Characteristics

As a tree, Devonshire Quarrenden has a vigorous habit, although tends to be susceptible to

apple scab Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family ( Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus ''Venturia inaequalis''. While this disease affects several plant genera, including ''Sorbus, Cotoneaster,'' and '' Pyrus'', it is m ...

. It is particularly hardy and was known to thrive even in windy and damp conditions: Hogg noted he had seen it bearing well "from Devonshire to the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

". Another 19th century orchardist said it was "adapted for any situation ..either as an orchard, standard, pyramid, bush, or trained as an espalier, or on a north, east, west, or south wall". An early bearer, it was the parent of another important early variety,

Worcester Pearmain 'Worcester Pearmain' is an early season English cultivar of domesticated apple, that was developed in Worcester, England, by a Mr. Hale of Swanpool in 1874.strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

flavour more clearly seen in the fruit of its descendants such as Worcester Pearmain,

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and Katy. The fruit of Devonshire Quarrenden is of small to medium size, up to c. 64x48mm; skin greenish yellow, completely or almost completely covered with a bright crimson flush, and flesh greenish white. The stalk is of medium size and slender. Picking late August for use late August to early September.

References

Apple cultivars {{fruit-stub