About the name
Name. 'Sherlock Holmes', after the famous detective of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories (1859-1930), one of the best-known literary characters in English-speaking culture. Synonym: 'St Richard of Chichester', a dedication to the Anglican saint Richard of Chichester (1197-1253, Bishop of Chichester). These are two separate names for one variety, for different marketing needs (literary versus religious).
Breeding. Bred by Harkness & Co (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Great Britain). Code HARklement. Introduced 2006/2007. Parentage not published by Harkness. Harkness is one of the oldest British breeding houses, founded in 1879, specialising in healthy garden varieties for the English climate.
Significance. The Harkness Abundance Collection, a Harkness series that prioritises health and resilience, marketed to British gardeners as 'garden roses that need no care'. The quartered old-fashioned form resembles Austin English Roses or Old Garden Roses, but it was bred in Harkness-style. The literary name Sherlock Holmes is typical of British culture, where literary dedications in variety names have been a tradition since the nineteenth century. It is often confused with Austin: in some legacy catalogues it is wrongly listed as an Austin, but it is in fact a Harkness. There are no major international awards (ADR/AARS/RHS AGM): Sherlock Holmes is valued above all for its flower form and British identity.