Beauty of Bath apple
A popular English garden apple from the Victorian era, one of the first to ripen.
Beauty of Bath is an attractive early-season English apple, hailing from the Victorian era. It will ripen in mid-July in southern England.
Beauty of Bath was grown commercially in Victorian times because it was one of the earliest-ripening varieties then available, and it is a heavy-cropper with good disease resistance. There is no commercial demand for this type of apple today because the market for apples in early summer in the northern hemisphere is dominated by high quality late-season varieties imported from the southern hemisphere. Late season apples store and handle much better than early season varieties. Indeed Beauty of Bath is best eaten straight from the tree, as it does not keep more than a day or so. Although the flavour does not compare with later season apples, Beauty of Bath would have been a welcome sight in early August for the Victorian apple enthusiast, as the first sign of the new apple season. Like most early varieties it is primarily quite a sharp flavour, but can be sweet if you catch it before it becomes over-ripe.
It is likely that Beauty of Bath is one of the parents of Discovery, probably the most famous English early-season apple. This is historically likely, given that Beauty of Bath was grown quite widely in England, but another common characteristic of Discovery is the way the red skin bleeds into the white flesh - a characteristic also found in Beauty of Bath.
Beauty of Bath remains a popular garden apple variety in England, although somewhat eclipsed by the later summer apples such as Worcester Pearmain and Discovery.
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Origin: Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom
- Introduced: Late 19th century
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 123100
- Some historical details taken with kind permission from 'The New Book of Apples' by Joan Morgan and Alison Richards , illustrated by Elisabeth Dowle, published by Ebury Press, 2002.
Identification
- Fruit colour: Red / Green
- Flesh colour: White
- Fruit size: Small
- Bultitude apple group: 4. Flushed / striped, smooth, dessert / dual-purpose
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Flavour quality: Average
- Flavour style: Sharper
- Ripening period: Early season
- Use / keeping: Does not keep
Growing
- Cropping: Heavy
- Flowering group: 2
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Slightly large
- Gardening skill: Very easy
- Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
- General disease resistance: Good
Climate
- Suitable for temperate climates
- Tolerates cold winters
Relationships to other varieties
Offspring of this variety:
- Discovery - Beauty of Bath is thought to be a parent of Discovery.
Beauty of Bath identification photos from official fruit collections
Beauty of Bath identification photos from website visitors
Fruit tree register
Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register the details here and contribute to our international register of fruit trees.
The following Beauty of Bath trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
United Kingdom
- a Kay in TADCASTER, N YORKS
- Alan in BRISTOL, SOMERSET
- Alison Rider in EASTBOURNE, EAST SUSSEX
- Donna Mitchell in CHIPPENHAM, Wiltshire
- Dougas Wilson in Perth,
- Dr Dennis Bancroft in NEAR RUGBY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
- Eoinpatrickdonohue in EPSOM SURREY
- Fran in bath, bath
- Geoff Potter in DEAL, KENT
- Graham Charles Schofield in NEWMARKET, Sufflok
- Mr.T.Lathan in SEAHAM, Co.Durham
- N. Buck in CAMBRIDGE, Cambridgeshire
- N. Buck in
- Peter Park in BISHOPS STORTFORD, HERTS
- Remy in BUCKINGHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
- Suzanne Mcnally in banbury, oxon
- Terry Smith in HUNTINGFORD, DORSET
- Wayne Farrell in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
- Wendy Priestley in Folkestone, Kent
Ireland
- Julene Deupree in BALLYSHANNON, Donegal
- Julene Deupree in BALLYSHANNON, DONEGAL
- Kevin Magee in DULEEK, MEATH
Switzerland
- Helmut Mueller in NEUKIRCH, Thurgau
Latest Spring blossom records for this variety
2011 season
- 8th May 2011 - tree owned by Peter in BISHOPS STORTFORD, United Kingdom
- 21st April 2011 - tree owned by Wendy in Folkestone, United Kingdom
- March 2011 - tree owned by Donna in CHIPPENHAM, United Kingdom
- March 2011 - tree owned by Geoff in DEAL, United Kingdom
2010 season
- 12th May 2010 - tree owned by Wendy in Folkestone, United Kingdom
- May 2010 - tree owned by Alan in BRISTOL, United Kingdom
- 28th April 2010 - tree owned by N. in CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom
- April 2010 - tree owned by Geoff in DEAL, United Kingdom
2009 season
- May 2009 - tree owned by Alan in BRISTOL, United Kingdom
- 19th April 2009 - tree owned by N. in CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom
Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.
Latest harvest records for this variety
2011 season
- 3rd week July 2011 - tree owned by a in TADCASTER, United Kingdom
- 3rd week July 2011 - tree owned by Peter in BISHOPS STORTFORD, United Kingdom
- July 2011 - tree owned by Geoff in DEAL, United Kingdom
2010 season
- September 2010 - tree owned by Donna in CHIPPENHAM, United Kingdom
- 1st week August 2010 - tree owned by Alan in BRISTOL, United Kingdom
- 3rd week July 2010 - tree owned by a in TADCASTER, United Kingdom
2009 season
Mature heights for Beauty of Bath trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Beauty of Bath tree taking into account the vigor of the variety, the rootstock, and soil conditions.
| Rootstock | Soil quality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Below average | Average | Above average | Very good | |
| P22 | 2.8 ft 0.9 m |
3.5 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
4.9 ft 1.5 m |
5.6 ft 1.7 m |
| M27 | 3.2 ft 1.0 m |
4.0 ft 1.2 m |
4.8 ft 1.5 m |
5.6 ft 1.7 m |
6.4 ft 2.0 m |
| M9 | 4.8 ft 1.5 m |
6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
| Bud.9 | 4.8 ft 1.5 m |
6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
| Geneva 16 | 4.8 ft 1.5 m |
6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
| Geneva 11 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| M26 | 6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.5 ft 2.3 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.0 ft 3.7 m |
| Geneva 30 | 6.4 ft 2.0 m |
8.0 ft 2.5 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
12.8 ft 3.9 m |
| MM102 | 6.4 ft 2.0 m |
8.0 ft 2.5 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
12.8 ft 3.9 m |
| M7 | 7.2 ft 2.2 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
10.8 ft 3.3 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
14.4 ft 4.4 m |
| M116 | 7.2 ft 2.2 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
10.8 ft 3.3 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
14.4 ft 4.4 m |
| MM106 | 8.0 ft 2.5 m |
10.0 ft 3.1 m |
12.0 ft 3.7 m |
14.0 ft 4.3 m |
16.0 ft 4.9 m |
| MM111 | 9.6 ft 2.9 m |
12.0 ft 3.7 m |
14.4 ft 4.4 m |
16.8 ft 5.2 m |
19.2 ft 5.9 m |
| Bud.118 | 10.4 ft 3.2 m |
13.0 ft 4.0 m |
15.6 ft 4.8 m |
18.2 ft 5.6 m |
20.8 ft 6.4 m |
| M25 | 12.0 ft 3.7 m |
15.0 ft 4.6 m |
18.0 ft 5.5 m |
21.0 ft 6.4 m |
24.0 ft 7.4 m |
From an idea by N. Buck - more details.
Where to buy apples
The following orchards and suppliers offer Beauty of Bath apples for sale. map >
United Kingdommap >
-
England - south-eastmap >
- Crapes Fruit Farm, Colchester
-
England - south-westmap >
- Charlton Orchards, Taunton
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