ROSES IN AN ANTIQUE BUREAU

When Histon's amateur rose breeder George Northfield found himself without any boxes to plant his new rose seedlings in, he went into a manic with worry. In stepped his brother, with the draws of an old bureau that he was going to chop up for firewood. These were perfect and George accepted them with glee and immediately put them into use. A few months later his brother came around in a panic as he needed the draws back. A friend of his brother had notice the bureau and pointed out to his brother that it was a valuable piece of furniture made in the reign of King George the Fourth. Though George was happy to let this brother have the draws back but only when the seedlings were strong enough to be replanted.

A compoister by trade with the Cambridge University Press, George had been born on October 18th, 1922. During his rose growing career, he was to breed many roses but sadly today none are still available to buy.

His roses were:

Brandy Butter

- was introduced in 1982 and is a hybrid tea with fragrant pale gold flowers.

Fragrant Star

- is a floribunda rose that he introduced in 1973 and has yellow flowers that give off an excellent fragrance.

Generosity

- has cream coloured flowers that have an orange centre. Introduced in 1982, it is a hybrid tea rose.

Joyce Northfield

- was a hybrid tea rose with orange flowers that he named after his wife. It was a lovely rose that was so highly admired by Peter Beales of Peter Beales Roses that he featured it in one of his books.

Orange Bouquet

- was introduced in 1972 and is a floribunda rose with coppery orange flowers.

Red Opal

- is probably the first rose that George successfully bred and is a floribunda rose with red flowers. He introduced it in 1968.

Violet Queen

- has deep deep violet pink and is a hybrid tea rose that he introduced in 1972.

George, who lived in Manor Park in Histon, established in the early 1970s a small nursery, Northfield Nursery, in Oakington Road in Cottenham. There he grow not only his only bred roses but also those of others to sell. These roses included Doris Tysterman, Elizabeth of Glamis, Iceberg, Josephine Bruce, Peace, Piccadilly, Prima Ballerina, Southampton and Wendy Cussoms.

He was to collapse and died from a heart attack at his nursery in Cottenham on August 8th, 1983. Heart problems ran in the family and one of his brothers, Basil, had already died from a heart attack.

Sources of information etc:

The Histon Roses of George Northfield by Stephen Harper-Scott (Published Oaklens Roses)

Royal National Rose Society's Annuals

The Northfield Roses Catalogue of 1982/83

The Rose Bulletin of the Royal National Rose Society, 1973

I must especially thank Eleanor Whitehead of the Histon and Impington Village Society for the help in creating this article.