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Discovered in a High Town back garden, Luton has a new apple variety. We asked you to vote for your favourite name from a list of suggestions. Read on to find out what people said.
Discovered in a High Town back garden, Luton has a new apple variety. We asked you to vote for your favourite name from a list of suggestions. Read on to find out what people said.
Sensation! A new Luton apple variety Discovered
Sensation! A new Luton apple variety Discovered
A previously unidentified apple variety has been discovered in a back garden on Clarendon Road, High Town.
In December 2025, Laboratory DNA testing confirmed it as a new cultivar, with the 19th century apple Newton Wonder being one parent. After inspection of the visual features, the other parent is potentially Laxton's Fortune rather than James Grieve, as established on 16 September.
The tree could be a chance seedling from an amateur gardener, or intentionally bred, grafted and planted. It is even possible that our tree is a long lost variety - but the process of finding more evidence has only just started.
It is an early dual-purpose apple, suitable for eating and cooking. The fruits are lemon-yellow, with a red and orange flush. The photos show this year’s fruit - all from the same tree.
The taste changes a lot with ripeness, from sharp to aromatic to a little winey once they're overripe. It's great for puree - cooking to a lovely fragrant colourful mush.
A local mystery
A local mystery
The tree is thought to be 70 to 90 years old, but we do not know who planted it or why. Research by a family historian and conversations with previous residents have not yet provided an answer. Fruit trees were once common in Luton gardens and the area around the tree shows fruit trees on historic OS maps.
The apple can now be registered as a new variety, but first, we needed a name for it.
Naming the new variety
Naming the new variety
We've had input from friends and sought advice from Peter Laws at FruitID.com. Peter is involved in the DNA scheme and registering new local apple varieties. We proposed five names based on where the apple is from, what it looks like and its parents.
People could rank the names in order of most to least favourite, and comment or suggest their own name using an online form.
The results of the vote are out
The results of the vote are out
Voting was open between 1 and 15 September 2026, and we had an incredible 719 responses.
The suggested names were displayed in a random order, which participants could sort in order of preference. The results indicated a clear favourite of Clarendon Blush.
In detail, results were (sorted by average position):
Clarendon Blush: 300 times top spot, average 2.2
Clarendon Wonder: 100 times top spot, average 2.7
High Town Beauty: 111 times top spot, average 3.0
Luton Wonder: 195 times top spot, average 3.0
Clarendon Seedling: 16 times top spot, average 4.0
We also had 327 comments and alternative name suggestions. We're still crunching the data, and will display some favourite comments on this page shortly.
Will this be the name?
Will this be the name?
The name will now be used for the submission of the Register of Local Cultivars in November. Fingers crossed the panel will accept it.
In the media
In the media
Read the article about the new Luton apple in LutonToday
Listen to Andy Collins on BBC Three Counties Radio talking on Tue 8 September 2026 to project lead Konni Deppe about the new Luton apple variety (starts from about 1:50:50 in).
ITV News Anglia published the story on 12 September: How do you like them apples?. There was also a TV item for Good Morning Britain, but we've not been able to find it online.
BBC online published a piece about it on 13 September: Experts identify new apple from decades-old tree.
The story even made The i Paper on 14 September (see photo)
Our Luton apple in The i Paper
The new Luton apple from Clarendon Road - all these apples from the same tree - slightly under-ripe
Close-up showing the striped blush and distinctive lenticels (dots) on the skin of the apple. They're tiny pores through which the apple can 'breathe'.
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