Yes, if they are in the same Pollination group. It usually says on the labels which group they are in.

thanks.i will now have to decide whch ones i would like to grow. anyone got any recomendations ?

The only cooking apple worthy of consideration, I think, is Bramley's seedling, which is group 4. James Grieve, which is about as perfect an eater as you can get if you don't let it get too ripe (again, quite a personal choice) is also group 4. Try these two together - they should pollinate each other nicely.

Again thanyou very much. the write ups of both sound perfect for what i want. would it be best to buy them bare root and get them in quick or buy ones in pots that are little more established?. Also i only have room for two trees with the bramley being a triploid will it still polinate with just one mate?

See there is where opinions vary. Bramley yes, but James Grieve was a total failure here. It suffered so badly from Scab that we dug it up and replaced it with something else.
It is a bit late now for bare root trees so you may have to go for a containerised one.
Good point about triploid pollination. I prefer Howgate Wonder as a cooker myself.

thanks. i did not know apples were so difficult. what did you replace James Grieve with? Howgate wonder ie related to newton wonder and theese are semi self fertile?

Isn't that strange, Ob? J.Grieves is the one tree we have had absolutely no problems with with scab. We have lost three apricots to it now.

The big problem we are having now is actually Bitter pit, even on trees which are suppose to be immune to it. I am in the process of trying the old trick of drilling holes round the tree roots and putting Calcium carbonate in them to see if it helps, as it is a Calcium deficiency which causes it.
We replaced Grieves with a very very old variety called Court Pendu Plat.

As stated Bramley is a triploid variety and needs two other polinators. James Grieve is a duel purpose apple and together with Fiesta which is a good substitue for Cox and easier to grow, both group 3 polination so good pair.

Thankyou. I am starting to wish i had a bigger garden as the choice i am finging in apples is large. i have spotted another tree not too far away so the bramley would work but the howten/newton cooker could be the way to go.... or do i switch the eater from james grieve? a garden center has told me Grieve and Bramley have to be bought as graffted(m27) as they are a bush tree? is this right or are they just trying to make me spend more money?

I think all fruit trees are grafted, Andrew, and the rootstocks for apples are as follows:-
M27 The smallest, for bushes and cordons up to about 6'
M26 Dwarfing - up to about 10' for compact standards or big bushes
MM106 Semi-dwarfing - up to 14' (all our apple, pear and quince trees are this)
MM11 Large standard trees - can reach about 25',
All these heights will be dependent on the actual variety you choose; some are naturally much more vigorous than others. We have two 6 year old Bramleys on MM106 rootstock: they are about 7' tall (but quite wide) and last year we had about 15-20 kilos of fruit off each one (we'd have had more if a fearsomely destructive hailstorm hadn't taken out a lot of the developing fruit in May). Our 2 James Grieves of the same age are about 10' tall, much slimmer and gave about 4-5 kilos of fruit each.
The one you choose will determine how long you have to wait for any fruit, and then get a really good crop.
If you want a choice of rootstock, you may have to go further than your bog-standard garden centre and a specialist nursery can even graft specially to order, but it obviously means a longer wait.
I'm really interested to know what choice you make and how you will get on. By the way, which part of the country do you live in?

wow.... thanks for all the information. i have decided to go with a James Grieves and a Howgate Newton both are polination group 4 and seem to be the taste type thak myself and my wife like also thay do not grow too big. I live on the borders ov north and west yorkshire inbetween york and leeds.... what do you think of my choice? and do you think they will grow? I seem to have a gift for growing veg/flowers but fruit is a whole new ball game for me.

Well, Andrew, if you have a gift for growing ANYTHING you have a head start. I don't have a particular gift and my apple trees still grow for me, even out here in the Appennines, where winters are fearsome and summers so hot and dry, most things curl up and die! We were astounded at how well they adapted to the shallow soil and extreme weather conditions, despite all the warnings we got. If I can do it, so can you! I don't know Howgate Wonder or Newton Wonder, but have read that the latter is very disease resistant and a good choice for more northerly gardens. Take Owdboggy's warning about scab on J Greives very seriously, and treat as soon as you see any signs, and I'm sure you'll be pleased with your choice. My favourite eating apple of all time. Good luck!