https://archive.org/stream/gardenerschronic25lond/gardenerschronic25lond_djvu.txt
The Gardeners Chronical 1886 p431
APPLE WAREHAM (WEAVERHAM, CHESHIRE)
RUSSET.
This useful late-keeping kitchen Apple, which will keep good till April, is deserving of a place in any large collection, but is, I believe, very little known.
It is of medium size, firm, crisp, juicy, and pleasantly acid, and an abundant cropper ; in fact it seldom fails to carry a heavy crop of fruit, no matter how bad the season may be. I first obtained this variety some few years since from that well known firm the Messrs. F. & A. Dickson & Son, of Chester. I believe I am right in slating that theirs is the only fruit list in which this variety is offered.
Edward Ward, Hcvell Gardens, Bromsgrove.
Correction. — I have to correct an error which I made in last week’s issue (p. 431) regarding Apple Wareham
Russet. I find that this variety is included in the catalogue of Messrs. James Dickson & Son, also of Chester. Edward Ward, Hevell Gardens, Bromsgrove
Re Dickson’s Nurseries of Chester. In the 19th century Chester became a centre for market gardening, plant nurseries, and seed merchants. As early as 1837 Chester market gardens were supplying Liverpool, and the coming of the railways allowed some Chester firms to expand greatly. The trade increased in importance right up to 1914 and maintained its position until the 1930s. The city’s location at the geographical centre of the British Isles, together with its good rail connexions and mild climate, made it an ideal place to serve the national market. The Dickson family, established in Chester by 1820, was pre-eminent in the trade, F. & A. Dickson operating at Upton nurseries and James Dickson & Sons at Newton. The two enterprises merged in the 1880s, when the grounds under cultivation extended to over 400 acres. It was one of the largest businesses of its type in the country. By the late 19th century the firm supplied all types of bedding plants and trees, together with farm and garden seeds, garden tools, and agricultural implements, and undertook commissions to design gardens for country houses. Other large nurseries were operated by Samuel Dobie and John Kirk in the Vicars Cross area, F. W. Dutton at Queen’s Park, McHattie & Co. at Overleigh, and Alexander McLean at Upton .
See http://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/uptondicksons.html