(1958)  
 
More on the origins of 'Oakington Ruby'. Anne Ashberry in her "Miniature Trees and Shrubs",1958, tells us ....
that Alan Bloom discovered this rose in a cottage garden at Oakington. "The old lady who let him have stock of this plant knew of no name for it, but said she had had it for sixty years, and believed that her grandmother had it given to her by the gardener of the then Bishop of Ely. Alan Bloom introduced this rose into general cultivation and it is still very popular." This suggests that this rose has a history going back to about 1873.  

[This text from an unregistered guest in Comments, 2007.  They add:] 

Modern Roses tells us that "OR" was introduced by C. R. Bloom in 1933. C. R. Bloom was Alan's father Charles. They both had nurseries in Oakington near Cambridge. Anne Ashberry's details about the history of this rose suggest she had this history directly or indirectly from Alan Bloom.