From the Living Museum
Acklam Russet
- Origin
- Acklam, Yorkshire, England (probably the Acklam near Malton); first recorded 1768
- Era
- c. 1768
- Type / use
- Dessert (Russet)
History & Stories
One of the older English russets. Small-to-medium fruit with extensive brown russet over yellow ground and often a warm flush. Firm greenish-white flesh carries a clean sweet-sharp flavor that holds well into winter. Unique as a hardy northern English russet that was already well-known by the end of the 18th century; William Forsyth (gardener to George III) praised it. Self-sterile triploid — needs a pollinator. Classic old-fashioned dessert russet character.
Folklore & Name
Named for the village of Acklam in Yorkshire. One of the older named English russets; already noted by William Forsyth (gardener to George III) in the early 19th century.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Acklam Russet is named for the village of Acklam in Yorkshire. The UK National Fruit Collection says it originated there and was recorded in 1768 1. Robert Hogg's Fruit Manual (1884) agrees that it "originated at the village of Acklam, in Yorkshire," and praised it as "a dessert apple of first-rate quality," ripe in November and keeping "till March," on a tree that is "very hardy, and an excellent bearer" 2. Its synonyms include Aclemy Russet and Wheeler's Russet 1.
The competing accounts
- UK National Fruit Collection 1: originated at Acklam, Yorkshire, and recorded in 1768.
- Robert Hogg, 1884 2: also places it at "the village of Acklam, in Yorkshire," without a date or a finder.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): a Yorkshire apple on record by 1768. Both sources agree on that. Neither says which of Yorkshire's Acklams is meant, so the "near Malton" placing is plausible but unconfirmed.
What we think: stories & traditions
A northern russet. Hogg's notes suggest an apple bred for hard places: hardy, a good cropper, and happiest in dry soil 2. It is easy to imagine it in the walled gardens and farm orchards of the Yorkshire Wolds, though the old books don't tell us who first grew it or how it was found.
Which Acklam? Yorkshire has more than one village of that name, and the sources don't say which one is meant 1,2. We have not found an early record that settles the point.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Acklam Russet." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=65&fruit=apple
- Robert Hogg, The Fruit Manual, 5th ed. (London, 1884), "Acklam Russet." archive.org/details/fruitmanualguide00hoggrich/mode/2up?q=Acklam
Curious about Acklam Russet?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.