Rose inspired by Minster's famous window is unveiled

The York Minster Rose was revealed to the public during an inaugural planting ceremony which was staged in Dean's Park next to the cathedral.

The plant is a repeat-flowering floribunda bush with creamy full petals which are a delicate pink, echoing the centre of the Rose Window in the Minster.

It will be officially launched at the Chelsea Flower Show in the spring of next year, before it goes on sale the following autumn.

The York Minster Rose was developed by Harkness Roses of Hitchin, a specialist rose breeding company which was originally founded in 1879 in North Yorkshire before moving to Hertfordshire 80 years later.

The rose was chosen by members of the York Minster Fund and the Dean of York, Keith Jones, who said: "This rose will be a reminiscence of York Minster for everyone's garden, and a beautiful memento of a place to remember."

The new flower bed will be visible from the entrance to Dean's Park at the cathedral's West End, with a plaque to commemorate the launch of the Minster's own rose.

The Rose Window is one of the most famous features of the cathedral, but it was seriously damaged in the infamous blaze which swept through the Minster's South Transept in 1984.

The heat from the fire produced about 40,000 cracks in the glass, and the window had to be removed before glaziers spent two-and-a-half years repairing the damage.

The Minster has one of the best collections of stained glass in England, with 128 windows containing about two million individual pieces of glass.