[kateblair]

we have just moved into an old cottage which has a very old climbing rose on the front. This rose has not really had much attention for some time and consequently now needs some tender loving care. It has a thick woody stem and not much greenery but has had some roses this year. The owner asked me if we would like to replace it but it seems a shame to do so.  The rose bush whilst sparse is quite tall reaching to the bedroom window and still has some new growth. What TLC would you recomend to help

[mumofstig]

Is it a climber, or a rambler? as they get pruned differently

Have a look at the base is there any recent growth there, or does it all start higher up?
If so how much higher?

First thing you can do is cut out all old brown/dead/dying twigs & branches..then you can see what's going on.

[sunshineband]

If you like the flowers then it will be welll worth saving the plant 

As MoS said, once you know the type of rose then specific advice will help.

How tall is the rose?

[kateblair]

not sure as to type but most of stem is thicker than a walking stick there is no growth on bottom half of plant. It reaches 1st floor bedroom window at tallest and there is limited new growth nearly all at top. It has large red roses. It sits in a small flower bed at the front of the house. I suspect that the main thing is to feed the rose as properly not done for years and think that soil needs fertilising at moment bed is jammed full of montbretias with odd bit of bindweed etc.

[kateblair]

in fact only thing until half way is the thick stem

[mumofstig]

You definitely can't do any low pruning then   

In winter I would cut back a third of the  main top shoots to the main branch to make it grow some new ones. (If this works well, you can do the same next winter as well)
Cut off all the thin twiggy bits at the top and reduce all the top side branches by about a third.

Try to tie in the branches so they are as near to horizontal as possible, they should then flower along their length, rather than just at the very top.

and yes give it a good feed 

[Goosegirl]

Good advice from Mumofstig - also go to RHS website or their pruning book for pix to help out.

[kateblair]

thank you for the advice should I buy a rose feed or could I make one such using chicken or sheep manure for example

[mumofstig]

Give them some manure tea now would be good, and a shovelful of the rotted stuff over winter if you have some or Blood fish and bone
(personally I don't think the rose fertilisers are anything different, except in price )

[compostqueen]

They do like their feet in muck as they are heavy feeders. If it's not been pruned for ages it will flower only the top.  Some of the old roses only flower once a year but they can be amongst some of the most beautiful roses and often with a lovely scent, so I'd be tempted to nurture it and see what you get next year.  I think it only needs muck when it's starting to bud up next year. A clear out round the base would be a good idea as they do like a bit of air 

Good luck with it. Hopefully you can take a photo next year when it's in its full glory