From the Living Museum
Wyken Pippin
- Origin
- Wyken, near Coventry, Warwickshire, England; said to have come from continental seed, early 18th century or earlier
- Era
- 18th c. or earlier
- Type / use
- Dessert
History & Stories
Classic English dessert apple, named for Wyken near Coventry 1, with yellow skin, red flush, crisp aromatic flesh, and good storage. Also known as Warwickshire Pippin 1.
Folklore & Name
Wyken, near Coventry, Warwickshire, early 18th century or earlier. Classic English dessert apple, named for its village 1,2.
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
Wyken Pippin is named for Wyken, near Coventry, in Warwickshire. The UK National Fruit Collection says it is "said to have been raised by Lord Craven from seed of a continental apple and planted at Wyken near Coventry," and also "said to have been brought to the UK from Holland in the early 1700s" 1. Its synonyms include Warwickshire Pippin 1. Robert Hogg's Fruit Manual (1884) rated it a first-rate dessert apple, good to eat from December through April 2.
The competing accounts
- Robert Hogg, 1884 2, and the UK National Fruit Collection 1: by tradition, Lord Craven grew it from a pip of an apple he ate abroad, and the seedling went into the ground at Wyken outside Coventry.
- National Fruit Collection 1, second version: said to have been brought to Britain from Holland in the early 1700s.
- A Norfolk origin is sometimes given; we found no source for it.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): a seedling raised at Wyken, Warwickshire, from continental seed, in the early 1700s or before. Both books place the tree at Wyken, where Lindley saw the ancient trunk in 1827.
What we think: stories & traditions
A lord's souvenir (tradition). Hogg tells the story: the apple "is said to have originated from seed saved from an apple which Lord Craven had eaten while on his travels from France to Holland," and the seedling was set out at Wyken, some two miles from Coventry. He adds that, according to Lindley, the original tree "then very old" was still alive in 1827, an old trunk with "a strong sucker growing from its roots" 2. Both Hogg and the National Fruit Collection present it as something "said," so we treat it as a family tradition rather than a documented fact.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Wyken Pippin." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=6934&fruit=apple
- Robert Hogg, The Fruit Manual, 5th ed. (London, 1884), "Wyken Pippin," p. 251. archive.org/details/fruitmanualguide00hoggrich/page/251
Curious about Wyken Pippin?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.