Unknown apple variety - any suggestions?

[winecap]

A few years ago I collected a couple of bags of apples from a tree on waste ground. They were great -  slightly russet skin, quite sweet, somewhat nutty, with a rich fruity flavour. They were mostly yellow/tan coloured, and most notably, about the size of a grapefruit and similar in shape. I suspect the tree had been part of an old orchard as there were a couple of other trees there. Unfortunately, the tree was dead the following year. I have never been able to put a name to it, but wonder if anybody can suggest something. I would love to get hold of a tree.

[winecap]

[penedesenca]

You could try orange pippin site and see if any fit https://www.orangepippin.com/varietyindex.aspx?reset=1

[Obelixx]

Do you live near an RHS garden?  They often organise apple identifying days so check the website and see if there's one planned near you.

[galina]

http://www.applename.com/

This site lets you search by features. 

Apple Days are a great source of information.  If they have it on their display table, you can ask to taste a slice. Even though you don't have an apple to show them, they might well be able to help you, as Obbelixx said. Presumably a Victorian variety.  Maybe a visit to Wisley to study their library and orchard.   I wouldn't think there are many apples the size of a grapefruit.

It wouldn't be a Blenheim Orange by any chance? 

I expect you have been trawling the nursery catalogues already, they usually have good pictures too. 
Good luck.

[winecap]

Thanks for the input. I have trawled various websites, with little success. The best looking match I have seen is Pitmaston Pineapple. Colour and skin texture look right in lots of photos, but clearly the size is completely wrong.

[galina]

https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/pdf/Libraries/Reading-lists/RLApples

A reading list for apple identification purposes from Wisley   

[daveyboi]

Maybe a Peasgood's Nonsuch  apple

[winecap]

Searching for Peasgoods Nonsuch on google images brought up a lot of apples that looked nothing like, but this image https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4105/5005643234_6ec7ec843a.jpg would have been a close match with much less red. I guess that makes it a possibility. Now to try and find one to taste. Any suggestions?

[Digeroo]

Can you give us a location for the tree.  There are quite a few local varieties.  Was it an old tree.
You say slightly russet, but what colour was it?

There are not very many apples that large.  How about the Newtown Pippin.

[daveyboi]

Searching for Peasgoods Nonsuch on google images brought up a lot of apples that looked nothing like, but this image https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4105/5005643234_6ec7ec843a.jpg would have been a close match with much less red. I guess that makes it a possibility. Now to try and find one to taste. Any suggestions?

That picture is the French version so maybe the one but look at the details and maybe one of the related varieties is what you are searching for see

http://www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=4552&&fruit=apple

[winecap]

Ok, to clarify, the apples were quite yellow, with a tan coloured russetting, and just a touch of red/orange blush on some of them. The tree was just down the road from my home in Sheffield. The picture I put a link to appeared quite similar. but the red was too extensive.
daveyboi - I don't want to sound stupid, but what exactly do you mean by the French version of Peasgoods Nonsuch? Was that a selection of the original which kept the same name?
Thanks all for your suggestions, though I'm not sure I'm going to solve this any time soon.

[daveyboi]

daveyboi - I don't want to sound stupid, but what exactly do you mean by the French version of Peasgoods Nonsuch? Was that a selection of the original which kept the same name?
Thanks all for your suggestions, though I'm not sure I'm going to solve this any time soon.

You are not sounding stupid at all. What I was suggesting is that the picture of the French one although being exactly the same variety maybe has slightly different colouring due to the soil and climate conditions to one grown in the UK.

I did have a look at some of the family on the related varieties and it seems maybe some are more like that which you describe but suggest you look yourself at the pictures to see if anyone of them is more like the one you are searching for. ( note you have to scroll a long way down to see the pictures of each variety on its page )

[ed dibbles]

See if you can find you apple among these. A really informative video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkWbGYc0AmA

[Tiny Clanger]

We used to have an apple tree that produced fruit similar to those you describe. I a going back around 50 years. VERY large fruit that kept, but not for months.  My father told me that it was called "Queen Elizabeth Apple"

The tree looked fairly new compared with some of the other orchard trees (nearly 100 years old) and was smaller and more modern looking.

I have no idea where it was bought - there is a housing estate on our land now.

[winecap]

Loved the video ed dibbles, but it didn't actually take me anywhere. Watched it several times though and will come back to watch it again.

As for an apple called "Queen Elizabeth" I can't find any trace of it. To be honest though, every search I do is swamped with results relating to a certain lady rather than an apple tree.

Coming back to Peasgoods Nonsuch, the description on Wikipedia does sound quite promising.
"A very large yellowish-green apple, deepening to orange-yellow, flushed and striped red with some russet patches. Flesh is sweet and juicy. Good eating and superb for cooking. Large, hardy and heavy cropping tree. Apples can weigh up to half a kilogram, and are famously large enough to make a pie from a single apple."
Described as "deepening to orange-yellow" suggests a more yellow apple when fully ripe which may be as I found the tree. Slightly off-putting that most of the images I can find are very green. Does anybody here actually grow this apple?