The search is on this summer for one of the most elusive symbols of the bloodiest tale in Britain's history.
Yorkshire folk are scowering the battlefield and gardens near famous Towton – scene of the deadliest battle in Britain – in search of the elusive red and white Towton Rose.
Author Peter Algar, from Leeds, and curator Peter Boyd, from Shropshire, are appealing nationally in the hope of tracking down the rare bloom, not seen for over 70 years.
They hope the ghostly wild rose - the wild version of Rosa Spinossisima, might have been transplanted elsewhere in Britain – and are appealing to gardeners for help track it down.
Rose 'grew on graves of dead soldiers'
The rose allegedly grew in its hundreds on the graves of the fallen at the famous Battle of Towton just a few miles from York.
More than 28,000 Lancastrians and Yorkists fell at the spot in 1461, reputedly the bloodiest battle in English history. The rose is only purported to have bloomed on the soil where the blood of dead is supposed to have been spilled, according to legend and poetry.
The pair hoped they had found a candidate after visiting a Mrs Sybil Davis in Tadcaster who had a red and white shrub growing in her garden.
The plant was cultivated from an original found at Cock Beck, the scene of much carnage during the War of the Roses battle. But, after examination, the specimen – which sports red and white petals – is almost certainly not the Towton Rose.
Not been seen for over 70 years
Peter Boyd, curator at Shropshire Museums, and a world expert on the Scots or Burnet Rose, says:
"The Towton rose was identified in the 19th century as a form of the native Scots Rose (Rosa spinosissima), also known as the Burnet Rose. There is no doubt that it DID exist but it is said that it has not been seen for over 70 years.
"This rose is definitely NOT Rosa spinosissima and I do not think that it is the original Towton Rose if the original nineteenth century descriptions and identifications were correct - and everything suggests to me that they were.
"This is Rosa gallica 'Rosa Mundi' (The York and Lancaster Rose), a very well-known rose since before about 1580 and not to be confused with Rosa spinosissima.
"'Rosa Mundi' is the variegated flowered form of Rosa gallica officianalis and plants of 'Rosa Mundi' often 'revert' to the plain red form."
Keen Towton Battlefield enthusiast
Leeds's Peter Algar, from Horsforth, author of The Shepherd Lord, set during the aftermath of Towton, and a keen Towton Battlefield enthusiast says:
"The original Towton roses which grew on the spot in their hundreds were grubbed up almost 70 years ago when farmers became fed up of collectors picking the roses and leaving gates open etc.
"The fact that this is not a Rosa spinosissima is not necessarily a disappointment for me. At the Towton Battlefield Society, we are interested in everything that grows on the battleground. We have four positive ID's of Rosa gallica that were taken from the hallowed ground. In footballing parlance the score is: Rosa gallica 4: Rosa spinisissima 0.
"That does not mean that we are searching for the wrong rose. Peter Boyd is spot on with his analysis.
"What this means is that someone, probably more than one individual, has taken the trouble to plant different roses on the battlefield. The question is why and when? Peter Boyd speculates that these other roses may have been planted as a hoax in the 20th Century. There is a chance, just a chance that these roses may have been planted in medieval times.
"The species Rosa gallica, also known as the apothecary's rose, was cultivated by medieval monks. The red of the petals is said to represent the blood of the early Christian martyrs.
"They used to dry the petals and roll them into prayer beads. That's where the name rosary is derived.
"It does not stretch the imagination to think that in late medieval times this rose was planted by mourning relatives on the site where their loved ones had fallen at Towton, Saxton and Dintingdale.
"We know that Edward IV and Richard III maintained a chantry chapel there, and there was a strong need for atonement after the battle, when the full force of ferocity had been heaped on the vanquished.
"Think of it – Cliffords, Percys, Dacres, Nevilles of Raby and many more perished there. What more of a lasting, symbolic and touching memento could you leave than a beautiful Rosa Mundi or Rosa Gallica?
"We were delighted to be contacted by Mrs Davis and had high hopes that this might be the first Towton Rose spied in 70 years. But alas, it isn't. Nevertheless, we remain undeterred in our search for this most beguiling of symbols."
Algar said he had initially concentrated his search on the immediate Towton area but there is a strong West Riding connection. He added:
"Edmund Bogg, a poet and antiquarian wrote a poem about the rose at the turn of the last century.
"He had an arts and picture framing shop in Leeds and was known to encourage local artists. We do not have a picture of the rose but maybe Bogg used at as a still life subject for his students?
"Also, day trippers from the Leeds and Bradford area and further afield were known to visit Towton to pick up souvenirs of the rose. Maybe someone has one in their garden elsewhere in Britain?"
If anyone can help Peter and Peter, they can visit www.theshepherdlord.com where the full story of the rose appears, and a contact is available.
* Martin Hickes is a Leeds-based journalist/publicist