Royal Wilding
 
Scrumpy Cider
 
1650 by accident near Exeter, Devonshire, UK
 
Self-Sterile (needs a pollinator)
 
Late Harvester – December (can keep on the tree until Spring)
 
An incredibly well documented vintage cider apple. Much relished by the labourers of North Devon which positively idolised this apple for its ability to create an incredible strong, fruity but zingy Scrumpy cider. Starting with its unusual dark cerise striped flower blossom in the spring to its small green fruits developing en-masse in the summer months. The fruits are extremely high in tannins making it an superlative cider apple, but if one would like to sample fresh from the tree they would find a small, very hard fruit with a slight astringent linger on the tongue. It does benefit from leaving on the tree for as long as possible as this does mellow the harsher flavours somewhat. The cider produce was such complexity that the cider it produced was desired up & down the country.
Hoggs mentions that the apple we know as the Royal Wilding was found on the side of the highway at Red Hill within St Thomas Parish (now been consumed by the city of Exeter.) apparently it was the Rev. Robert Woolcombe of Whitestone who was a prolific grafter of this variety. He indeed thought it was so superior to the other varieties that he christened it the Royal Wilding.
The gentlemen Hugh Stafford Esq. of Pyne stated in his book ‘A Treatise of Cider-making’ in 1753 that this tree has some rather interesting qualities. He says that the ‘the tree seems to be designed by nature to survive the oak’, that its shape resembles a pear tree & that it grows so quickly that it can reach ‘a large stature in a few years'. Hugh rather unkindly latterly states that ‘whoever plants this tree is a friend of posterity, because it is apt to tire all patience before being fruitful.’ Which is true if you are on a vigorous rootstock such as an M25 or an MM106 but a small dwarfing stock of M9 or M26 you should have a decent harvest a great deal sooner. Nonetheless, it is worth the wait as anecdotal evidence over the last 400 years has reported that yes, it is a little late to produce fruit but when it has reach full maturity the branches almost groan under the sheer weight of the apples!
 
Interestingly the great American Pomologist Downing reported this variety when grown in America, where it was known as the ‘Devonshire Wilding’.