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New apple named after road where it was discovered

Holly NicholsBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Konni Deppe Five apples that vary in size, shape, and colour. They may be at different stages of ripeness. Most have a smooth skin with a slight natural sheen. One of the apples still has leaves attached.Konni Deppe
A Register of Local Cultivars panel has approved the name Clarendon Blush

A previously unidentified apple variety grown in a back garden has officially been named after the road where it was discovered.

The apple, now known as the Clarendon Blush, was found on Clarendon Road in Luton in 2023.

According to community project Luton Orchards, 719 people voted in a public poll to name the new apple and the name was then approved by the Register of Local Cultivars.

Konni Deppe, founder of Luton Orchards, said she was "really excited" the name had been approved, adding that "everyone with a Bedfordshire apple collection can now grow the Clarendon Blush".

Konni Deppe Close-up of several pink-red apples with pale yellow patches and green leaves in the foreground.Konni Deppe
The Clarendon Blush is a dual-purpose apple, which means it is suitable for eating and cooking

Luton Orchards proposed five other names based on where the apple was from, its appearance and its parent varieties. Clarendon Blush won by over 300 votes.

Deppe said the name "really echoes where the apple was found and what it looks like".

The other contenders were the Clarendon Wonder, High Town Beauty, Luton Wonder and the Clarendon Seedling.

Deppe described the taste of the Clarendon Blush as excellent for making purée.

She said its flavour changes considerably as it ripens, "from sharp to lovely, before becoming slightly wine-like when overripe".

The apple, discovered on a tree believed to be between 70 and 90 years old, was tested by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge last year and compared with thousands of other UK and European varieties.

Testing showed the probable parent varieties were two 19th-century apples: Newton Wonder and James Grieve.

"Newton Wonder grew from a tree found in the thatched roof of a pub in King Newton, Derbyshire, in about 1870, while James Grieve is a Scottish apple dating from 1893," Deppe said.

The current owner of the tree, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were "glad to be part of this wonderful discovery", but who planted the tree, and why, remains a local mystery.

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