From the Living Museum
Mank's Codlin
- Origin
- Ballanard, Isle of Man; raised by Mr Kewley, first fruited 1815
- Era
- First fruited 1815
- Type / use
- Culinary (Codlin type)
History & Stories
Member of the old ‘Codlin’ group of early culinary apples whose soft flesh cooks quickly to puree. Historic early-season cooking apple.
Folklore & Name
British ‘Codlin’ type (early culinary apples with soft flesh that cook quickly). "Manks" is an old spelling of Manx: it was raised on the Isle of Man and later spread under names such as Irish Codlin and Eve Apple 1,2; historic early cooking apple of the British Isles.
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
Manks Codlin comes from the Isle of Man ("Manks" is an old spelling of Manx). The UK National Fruit Collection says it was "raised by Mr Kewley at Ballanard, Isle of Man," and "first fruited in 1815" 1. Robert Hogg's Fruit Manual (1884) called it "a very valuable early culinary apple, of first-rate quality," ripe in early August and lasting until November. He noted that trees bore fruit in the nursery "when only two years old from the grafts" and suited "exposed situations" and shallow soils 2.
The competing accounts
- UK National Fruit Collection 1: a Manx seedling of a Mr Kewley at Ballanard, which bore its first fruit in 1815.
- Robert Hogg, 1884 2, and the collection's synonym list 1: also known as Irish Codlin, Irish Pitcher and Eve Apple, names that could suggest an Irish origin.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): the Isle of Man, 1815. The national collection names the raiser and the place, and the Irish names look like later local names for an apple that travelled.
What we think: stories & traditions
An island apple that travelled. Its long list of synonyms includes Irish Codlin, Irish Pitcher, Eve Apple, and "Eve Apple of Scotland" 1,2. That suggests it spread widely around the Irish Sea and was renamed wherever it settled. Some accounts call it Irish for that reason, but the National Fruit Collection's origin is on the Isle of Man 1.
What's a codlin? "Codlin" was the old English name for a group of cooking apples that turn soft and fluffy when cooked.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Manks Codlin." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=3764&fruit=apple
- Robert Hogg, The Fruit Manual, 5th ed. (London, 1884), "Manks Codlin." archive.org/details/fruitmanualguide00hoggrich/mode/2up?q=Manks+Codlin
Curious about Mank's Codlin?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.