Rosa 'The Squire'

David C. H. Austin (1926 – 2018) was an award-winning rose breeder, nursery owner and writer from Shropshire, England. He began breeding roses in the 1950s with the goal of creating new shrub rose varieties that would possess the best qualities of old-fashioned roses while incorporating the long flowering characteristics of hybrid tea roses and floribundas. His first commercially successful rose cultivar was 'Constance Spry', which he introduced in 1961. He created a new, informal class of roses in the 1960s, which he named "English Roses".^[4] Austin's roses are generally known today as "David Austin Roses".^[5] Austin attained international commercial success with his new rose varieties. Some of his most popular roses include 'Wife of Bath' (1969), 'Graham Thomas' (1983), and 'Abraham Darby' (1985)^[6][7]

Austin developed 'The Squire' by crossing 'The Knight' and 'Chateau de Clos Vougeot' in 1976. Both parents were chosen for their deep crimson flowers, but both are considered weak growers. 'The Knight', one of Austin's roses, was later discontinued. When 'The Squire' was first introduced, it was praised "as the perfect new 'old' crimson rose." Since its introduction, it has been replaced by better new "old" Austin roses. 'The Squire' was used to hybridize four child plants, 'Fisherman's Friend' (Austin, 1987), 'L. D. Braithwaite', (Austin, 1988), 'Othello' (Austin, 1986) and 'The Prince' (Austin, 1990).^{[1] [2]}

• Quest-Ritson, Brigid; Quest-Ritson, Charles (1993). Encyclopedia of Roses. DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0756688684.
• Phillips, Roger; Rix, Martyn (1993). The Quest for the Rose. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-43573-0.