Rose of York Review: The Emblem of the House of York

A pub named ‘Rose of York’ – after the white rose of the House of York, emblem of the Wars of the Roses and the royal house

The Rose of York holds four hundred and sixty-five reviews and a 4.0 – a solid, average score on a good sample – and it bears a name rich with royal and historical romance: the Rose of York, the white rose of the great House of York, emblem of one of the most famous royal houses and one of the most dramatic chapters in all of English history.

The white rose of York

The “Rose of York” is the white rose – the famous emblem of the House of York, one of the two great rival royal houses of medieval England. The white rose of York is one of the most famous of all English heraldic emblems, instantly recognisable and rich with historical romance. The House of York was one of the two branches of the royal Plantagenet dynasty (the other being the House of Lancaster), and its emblem was the beautiful white rose – a lovely and evocative symbol, flown as the badge of the Yorkist kings and their followers. There is genuine beauty and romance in the emblem – the pure white rose, the badge of a great royal house, rich with the drama and romance of medieval England. To name a pub “Rose of York” is to fly this famous and beautiful royal emblem – the white rose of the great House of York.

The Wars of the Roses

The white rose of York evokes, above all, one of the most famous and dramatic chapters in all of English history – the Wars of the Roses. This was the great and bloody dynastic struggle of the fifteenth century, in which the two rival royal houses – York (the white rose) and Lancaster (the red rose) – fought a long and terrible series of wars for the throne of England. The very name “Wars of the Roses” comes from the two rose emblems – the white rose of York against the red rose of Lancaster – and the struggle is one of the most famous, dramatic and romanticised in all of English history, full of great battles, dramatic reversals, famous kings (Richard III, the last Yorkist king, among them) and high drama. It ended, famously, with the victory of Henry Tudor and the union of the two houses – the white and red roses combined into the Tudor rose. The “Rose of York” evokes all of this drama and history – the white rose, the great dynastic struggle, one of the most dramatic chapters in the English story.

The Tudor connection and Richmond

There is a lovely local resonance, too – for the Wars of the Roses ended with the triumph of the Tudors, and Richmond has deep Tudor royal connections. It was Henry VII, the first Tudor king (who united the white and red roses), who built Richmond Palace and gave the town its name (after his earldom of Richmond in Yorkshire). So the very name “Richmond” carries a Tudor royal heritage – and the “Rose of York,” evoking the dynastic struggle that brought the Tudors to power, carries a genuine resonance in this deeply Tudor-royal town. The name is rich with royal and historical romance – the white rose, the great dynastic wars, the coming of the Tudors, the royal heritage of Richmond itself. Its solid, average score across a good sample marks it as a decent and popular pub, worthily bearing its historically-rich name.

There is genuine history and royal romance in the name – the white rose of York, the great House of York, the dramatic Wars of the Roses, the royal Tudor heritage of Richmond. It is a historically-rich, romantic, royal pub name, flying one of the most famous of all English emblems. Its solid, average score across a good sample marks it as a decent and popular pub, worthily bearing its historic name. The Prat’s history desk salutes the white rose of York, contemplates the great dynastic drama, and raises a historic glass.

The pub

A solid, average, popular pub and hotel doing a fair 4.0 across a good sample, historically named “Rose of York” – after the white rose of the House of York, emblem of the Wars of the Roses.

Verdict

Solid, average, and richly historic – the Rose of York, flying the white rose of the great House of York, emblem of the dramatic Wars of the Roses.

Have a pint at the Rose of York, and enjoy the historic name – the white rose of the House of York, emblem of one of the most dramatic chapters in all of English history, the great Wars of the Roses.

Alan Nafzger

Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]