From the Living Museum
Kingston Black
- Origin
- Kingston, near Taunton, Somerset, England (believed); in Herefordshire by about 1820
- Era
- Known by about 1820
- Type / use
- Cider (Bittersharp)
History & Stories
The premier English bittersharp cider apple. Small-to-medium dark-red fruit with very high acid and tannin balanced by good sugar. Unique for producing some of the most complex and highly regarded single-varietal and blended English ciders; a true cornerstone variety.
Folklore & Name
Premier English bittersharp cider apple from Somerset, named after Kingston near Taunton 1,2. Produces some of the most highly regarded traditional English ciders.
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
Kingston Black is the classic Somerset bittersharp. The UK National Fruit Collection says it is "believed to be a Somerset apple and possibly raised at Kingston, near Taunton," and that it was "introduced into Herefordshire c.1820 by Mr Palmer of Bollitree Estate, Weston-under-Penyard near Ross-on-Wye" 1. Robert Hogg's Fruit Manual (1884) says simply, "It takes its name from Kingston, near Taunton." He called it "a beautiful little apple, extensively grown in Somersetshire, where in the present day it is considered the most valuable cider apple" 2.
What we think: stories & traditions
The Black. Hogg describes the fruit as dark red with "dark purple, or almost black stripes" on the sunny side 2. That probably explains the second half of the name, though no source says so directly.
From Somerset to Herefordshire. The apple's reputation travelled early. Mr Palmer was planting it near Ross-on-Wye around 1820 1, and by 1884 Hogg could say Somerset growers rated it above every other cider apple 2. We haven't found who first raised it at Kingston, or when.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Kingston Black." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=3250&fruit=apple
- Robert Hogg, The Fruit Manual, 5th ed. (London, 1884), "Kingston Black." archive.org/details/fruitmanualguide00hoggrich/mode/2up?q=Kingston+Black
Curious about Kingston Black?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.