Charles Quest-Ritson (born 1947) is an English horticulturalist and garden writer. He is one of Britain's foremost rosarians and is the author of the '' RHS Encyclopedia of Roses'' and ''American Rose Society Encyclopedia of Roses''. He was a director of the

Royal National Rose Society The Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) (1876–2017) was a specialist horticultural organization in the United Kingdom dedicated to the cultivation and appreciation of roses. Founded in 1876 as the "National Rose Society", it was the world's ol ...

and founder of the Historic Roses Group. Some of his books are co-authored with his wife, Brigid Quest-Ritson.

Life and work

Quest-Ritson was born on 20 June 1947 in Portsmouth, the eldest son of Gerald Ritson, a lieutenant in the Royal Marines, and Margaret Quest Thomson. He is the grandson of the mining engineer Professor John Ritson and the great-great-grandson of Thomas Alexander Dickson, the Liberal and Irish Nationalist MP. He attended Stoke House preparatory school in Seaford, Sussex and won gardening prizes there from the age of nine. He developed his skills in his grandparents' ten-acre garden; and his father's garden, designed by

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

. He was privately educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, where his housemaster was Dr Peter Partner, the historian of late-mediaeval Italy. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in history from the University of Warwick, where his tutor was Professor Sir

John Rigby Hale Sir John Rigby Hale (17 September 1923 – 12 August 1999) was a British historian and translator, best known for his Renaissance studies. Biography Hale was born in Ashford, Kent. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford (B.A., 1948, M.A., ...

. He began his professional life as a tax lawyer. He married Brigid and the couple had two daughters and a son. He has British and Irish nationality. The couple were partners in the Corsley Mill Nurseries (1983-1993), propagating own root roses.hoepli.it
/ref> From 2004 to 2020 the couple owned 12 acres of woodland and orchards in on the Cherbourg Peninsula, Normandy, in northern France. His garden contained over 1000 roses.''Country Life'', " Charles Quest-Ritson"
5 July 2020 They then moved back to England; their home near Salisbury has two acres of gardens on chalk. He is fluent in five languages and has specialised in writing about gardens across the world. He regularly authors expert guides for the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

. '' The RHS Encyclopaedia of Roses'' (2003) in Italian translation, won the literary

Grinzane Cavour Prize The Grinzane Cavour Prize (1982–2009) was an Italian literary award established in 1982 by Francesco Meotto. The annual award ceremony took place in the medieval castle of Grinzane Cavour. The goal of the prize was to attract young people to re ...

(2006). His first published horticultural book was ''The English Garden Abroad'' (1992) and he has written more than ten further guides over the following thirty years. He was a director of the

(extant 1876-2017), founder of the Historic Roses Group and a fellow of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

. He is also a regular columnist for '' Country Life'' magazine.

Works

* ''RHS Encyclopedia of Roses'' (2011) * ''The English Garden: A Social History'' (2010) * ''Ninfa'' (2009) * ''RHS Garden Finders'' * ''Olive Oil'' (2004) * ''Climbing Roses of the World'' (2003) * ''American Rose Society Encyclopedia of Roses: the Definitive A-Z Guide'' (2003) * ''The English Garden'' (2001) * ''The Royal Horticultural Society Gardener's Handbook'' (1999) * ''Gardens of Germany'' (also all the photographs) (1998) * ''Garden Lover's Guide to Germany'' (1998) * ''Gardens of Europe'' * ''Country Gardens'' (1998) * ''The English Garden Abroad'' (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quest-Ritson, Charles Living people 1947 births Alumni of the University of Warwick Country Life (magazine) people English gardeners English garden writers English horticulturists English people of Irish descent English rose horticulturists People educated at Winchester College Royal Horticultural Society Writers from Portsmouth Writers from Wiltshire