The Lady Henniker Apple

This apple was propagated at Thornham Hall near Eye in Suffolk. In 1873, the head gardener, John Perkins (author of ‘floral designs for the Table’) won the RHS Certificate of Merit for the Lady Henniker variety of apple which he had developed. He has given the following account of how the apple came into being: ‘Between the years of 1840-1850, the late Lord Henniker had great quantities of cider made up to give away in the summer months. Several bushels of apple pips were sown in the beds from which the most promising seeds were selected and planted and these were reduced every few years. The [resulting] tree became his favourite (sic) and was carefully preserved’

Description: Fruit: large, angular & oblong. Skin: Yellow on the shaded side, with a blush of red on the side facing the sun. Flesh: Very tender in the grain, well flavoured, and with a pleaseant perfume.

The present Lord and Lady Henniker have re-established the Lady Henniker Apple at Thornham, after it almost totally disappeared for nearly a hundred years, only one tree remaining by the end of the 20th century.



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