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Inside the historic walled garden at Luton Hoo Estate, you'll find a wonderful selection of 37 fruit trees of different ages. They include replanted heritage varieties and Luton's only apple cultivar, the Pam's Delight, at the entrance gate. Although the garden is outside of Luton's modern boundaries, it's included in our list due to the strong historic links between the town and Luton Hoo.
Inside the historic walled garden at Luton Hoo Estate, you'll find a wonderful selection of 37 fruit trees of different ages. They include replanted heritage varieties and Luton's only apple cultivar, the Pam's Delight, at the entrance gate. Although the garden is outside of Luton's modern boundaries, it's included in our list due to the strong historic links between the town and Luton Hoo.
Summary
Summary
Location: Luton Hoo Estate
Size: 1.66ha
Number of trees: 37
Crops: apple, cherry, fig, gage, pear, plum
Age of trees: young trees, established trees, veteran trees
Access: private, access only during opening times of the garden/events
Natural England incremental ID: BEDF0261
History
History
The history of the garden has been well researched by the Bedfordshire Gardens Trust and Luton Hoo volunteers, so here we'll focus on what we know about the fruit trees on the site. Historic maps tell us there have been fruit trees in and around the garden for a long time.
The 1842 Tithe Map and register describe plot 1999, which lies to the south-west of the walled garden, as 'Orchard'. The 1878 OS County Series map shows fruit trees within the garden and to the south-west of it.
On the 1842 Luton Tithe Map register of apportionments, the land was noted as owned by the Marquis of Bute and occupied by a Christopher Tomson.
The size of the orchard was noted as 1 acre, 3 roods and 10 poles, for which a tithe of 10 shillings and 9 pence was payable. The walled garden itself was logged as 'kitchen garden'.
The garden on the 1842 Luton Tithe Map register
The garden on the 1842 Luton Tithe Map register
Plot 1999 on the Luton Hoo Estate entry from the register of apportionments. © Crown Copyright Images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, England. www.NationalArchives.gov.uk & www.TheGenealogist.co.uk
Slideshow: Luton Hoo Walled Garden on historic maps
Slideshow: Luton Hoo Walled Garden on historic maps
Gordon Bland's plant list
Gordon Bland's plant list
This image of a hand-drawn map is good evidence that the bushes became a well-stocked orchard. It shows part of an outline map which was filled in from memory and old records by Senior Gardner, Gordon Bland.
From the Luton Hoo Walled Garden, we have this excellent piece of evidence that what are marked as bushes will turn into a well-stocked orchard. Image showing a section from an empty map outline, which was filled in by hand from memory and old records by senior gardener Gordon Bland. Photo reproduced with the kind permission of the Luton Hoo Estate.
Luton Hoo Walled Garden research volunteers spoke to Gordon Bland in the early 2000s. He started as an apprentice at the garden just after World War 2.
Gordon had kept some of the plans and remembered the varieties of fruit that were planted in what is now the car park. Some of these cultivars were re-sited within the walled garden in around 2019, as you can see in the inset photo of the planting day.
What’s notable in this orchard is the broad range of fruit: nuts to mulberries, quinces to peaches, and less common apple varieties from the 18th to the 20th century. This could be rooted in the desire to have sweet food for much of the year before sugar became readily available and cheap.
A rich selection of fruits was bred, from early apples that ripened as early as late August, to late keepers which stored through until late spring.
Gordon's list inspired a section of newly planted orchard within the walled garden.
A photo of a 'Margil' apple tree at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden in 2023. This cultivar was chosen based on what was grown in the historic orchard.
Crop types and cultivars at the Luton Hoo Estate orchard
Crop types and cultivars at the Luton Hoo Estate orchard
The heritage trees in August 2019, 5 months after planting. Photo: Torben Cox, for the Luton Hoo Estate.
Across the site are fruit trees of at least 3 different ages. This is the information we have about them:
An alley of veteran trees framing a pathway at the back of the garden is the oldest cluster of fruit trees in the garden. The 2 Bramleys in the centre of the garden may well be from a similar time.
In 2008, several fruit trees, including 2 Pam's Delight, were planted in the garden as part of an event with schoolchildren.
On 20 March 2019, 9 carefully chosen heritage trees - based on Gordon Bland's records - were planted beside the greenhouses.
Two rows of medlars were planted within the past decade or so. They are fruiting well and make a delicious jelly.
We set out to identify the cultivars grown at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden as part of the Luton Orchards project and this work will continue after 2024.
The 2019 plantings should have been easy to identify, but there were some discrepancies in the planting plan. This was possibly caused by a mix-up somewhere in the supply chain. This may not be an unusual occurrence, as it's difficult to distinguish young bare-root trees from each other. Thankfully, all the trees are now fruiting, and we've been able to identify all but 2 of the heritage trees.
A Discovery apple, Conference pear and Victoria plum were planted by the pond outside the walled garden in 2020.
Thank yous go to the head gardener, staff and volunteers at the garden for helping to piece this together.
No. Planted date Type Cultivar
No. Planted date Type Cultivar
1 2019 Malus Golden Noble
2 2019 Malus TBC
3 2019 Malus TBC - possibly Lord Burghley
4 2019 Malus Tom Putt
5 2019 Malus Dumelow’s Seedling
6 2019 Malus Laxton’s Epicure
7 2019 Malus Margil
8 2019 Malus Worcester Pearmain
9 2019 Malus Granny Smith
10 veteran Malus TBC
11 veteran Malus TBC
12 veteran Malus TBC
13 veteran Malus TBC
14 veteran Pyrus Conference
15 veteran Pyrus TBC - possibly Beurre Hardy
16 veteran Pyrus unknown - late pear
17 veteran Malus Worcester Pearmain
18 veteran Malus Worcester Pearmain
19 veteran Malus a cooker - not a Bramley's Seedling
20 veteran Malus possibly a cooker or for cider
21 established Malus possibly an Adam's Pearmain, a Winston or a Braeburn
22 established Malus an early eater - TBC
23 established Malus an early eater - TBC
24 established Malus an early eater - TBC
25 established Mespilus medlar
26 established Mespilus medlar
27 veteran Malus Bramley's Seedling
28 veteran Malus Bramley's Seedling
29 established Malus Bramley's Seedling
30 established Malus Bramley's Seedling
31 established Prunus TBC - possibly a Pearmain
32 established Malus unknown
33 established Malus unknown
34 established Malus unknown
35 established Prunus unknown
36 established Prunus unknown
Numbers 1 to 9
Numbers 29 and 30
Numbers 21 and 22
Numbers 27 and 28
Numbers 10 to 20 and 32 to 36
Numbers 23 to 26
Pam's Delight apples at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden. You can just about make out the beautiful lime-pointed brick wall in the background.
Pam's Delight at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
Pam's Delight at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
We know that Pam's Delight - Luton's only known apple cultivar - was planted at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden in 2008.
Unfortunately, the original Luton Today press article is no longer available, but the Pam's Delight website still references the event.
Martin Skipper from the East of England Apples and Orchards Project remembers supplying the trees for planting and recognised them from our samples in 2024.
Source: Pam's Delight - recent times, from https://pams-delight.weebly.com/recent-times.html, (accessed 9 September 2024). The original Luton Today article is unfortunately no longer linked.
The original planting labels. We're still trying to find the Beauty of Bath tree but all the others have been located. Here are labels for Margil, Beauty of Bath and Worcester Pearmain apples.
Tree labels for Dumelow's Seedling, Gascoyne's Scarlet and Laxton's Epicure apples.
Tree labels for Golden Noble and Granny Smith apples.
Medlars at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
Medlars at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
Medlars neatly stacked and ready to 'blet', the term for storing and sweetening them.
Medlars ready to pick on 22 November 2023.
Medlars on a tree at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden with their large open calyxes (bottoms) clearly showing.
Harvesting in Autumn 2023 with a pole picker. Photo: Torben Cox.
A Tom Putt apple.
Veteran trees in the winter sun, January 2024.
Maintenance and pruning
Maintenance and pruning
This garden and the fruit trees have come a long way. Long-standing volunteers at the garden remember that the veteran trees were completely overgrown at the start of this century. When the Walled Garden Volunteer Project began in 2001, volunteers cleared brambles that had almost completely covered the trees.
Later, pruning courses were held with orchard expert Bob Lever, to keep the trees in good shape. A hard prune was carried out in around 2020 to reduce the spread of canopies, because there was a risk the branches would otherwise fall. Most of the trees reacted with strong growth.
Volunteers have started careful pruning on the double row of veteran trees on the eastern edge of the garden, to lighten up the crowns again. This work began in January 2024 with the help of Sal Wileman from the East of England Apples and Orchards Project.
The somewhat fan-trained plums along the wall were pruned in summer 2024.
Bramley apple tree 27 on the plan - in winter 2023/24.
Bramley apple tree 28 on the plan.
Winter-pruning the veteran apple tree alley.
Grafting at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
Grafting at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden
Golden Noble, Lord Burghley, Adam's Pearmain, and Laxton's Epicure grafted onto MM106 rootstock in March 2024.
The same trees in October 2024. Some rootstock suckers had to be removed, but the young trees are doing well.
Labelled scion wood.
A volunteer helping with labelling the newly grafted trees, a very important job. It will be years until the trees bear fruit, without which they look alike. The labels will tell you what you've got before their fruiting years.
Checking up on an 8-month-old Laxton's Epicure, kept in a volunteer's private garden as a backup.
Further research ideas for the Luton Hoo Walled Garden orchard
Further research ideas for the Luton Hoo Walled Garden orchard
find older references to fruit trees (pre-1842)
find records of other plantings on the site
find memories to date the Bramleys and veteran alley
find the original article about the Pam's Delight event
Do you want to help care for this orchard?
Do you want to help care for this orchard?
Luton's orchards need your help. If you'd like to find out more about how to volunteer at this or any orchard, we would love to hear from you. Sign up for our mailing list or send us a message.
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