Hungerford Arcade always gives a warm welcome to our doggy visitors – we have treats behind the desk if their owners say we can spoil them!

We recently met these two very special visitors – look at those wonderful faces, so attentive and alert.

Bracey, the labrador, and Percy, the spaniel, are both Hampshire Police dogs. Bracey is in training as a Police sniffer dog (we are pleased to say he didn’t find anything untoward in the Arcade!), whereas Percy is a Well-being dog.

They were a delight and so friendly and behaved impeccably for their owner, Jane Liming. Truly a credit to the Force.

Follow their exploits on X on HantsTVPolDogs

We are very lucky to have good friends in Nicola Wood and Susan Mayes of Smarten Up Hungerford.  They have, once again, excelled themselves with the planting scheme for the stone troughs on either side of our front door, so much so that we have won the Commercial Shops category of Hungerford in Bloom for the third year running!

The judges commented on the stunning purple colour combinations.  They went on to say how lovely and vibrant the colours were, which looked so pretty with the lavender.

I was delighted to represent the Arcade at the presentation of the winners’ certificates on 7th September.  I never realised there were so many categories in the competition!  The pictures of the winning gardens were spectacular.

Helen Simpson (the mayor), Nicola Wood, Wendy from the Arcade and Susan Mayes at the presentation of our winning certificate!

The whole of Hungerford came together to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, over the course of one weekend at the end of June.

We at the Arcade did our bit to join in with all the events going on over the weekend. Unit holder Jacque who has one of the front window units (unit 109) decided to go back in time to the 1940’s when the Arcade was then the local Grocery shop – Alexander’s.

The window became a grocers window during war time Britain, with great help and knowledge from local resident Susan Mayes who had some original 1940’s packaging and managed to source replica WW2 food labels etc for the display.

Jacque and Brenda, in her poppy dress,  by the front desk

It was a fantastic weekend, the sun was shining, the bunting was out and on the Saturday (also Armed Forces Day), we were treated to a 60+ vintage military vehicle convoy through Hungerford High Street.

We thought we’d share two recently arrived additions to the Arcade. A beautiful example of a childs rocking horse and a childs horse tricycle!.  The stunning rocking horse is available at The Blue Rooms (Unit 4) and is a fine example of the toy and must be seen.

As for the fabulous, old and rare French Childs Tricycle, this can be viewed in unit 42P at the Arcade.

Baby rocking horses and rocking horses for toddlers are one of the must-have gifts and decors in our modern-day nurseries. They have been adopted by our western families for centuries.

There have been many royal links in the history with rocking horses in the past, as well as the present. A wooden rocking horse for babies is usually a centerpiece of any nurseries.

It was believed one of the earliest forms of a ‘riding horse’ is simply a hobby horse type toy with a carved horse head attached on a stick, some may also have had a wheel at the end of the stick.

Other ancestors of the rocking horses may also be found in the form of a rocking cradle and seat used during the Middle Ages apparently for jousting practice.

Rocking horses had become more and more popular and by the 1800s rocking horses were considered as a common children’s toy. 

In 1880, an alternative rocking horse mechanism was designed by an American inventor. This new glider-type base was safer than the classic bow rockers and required less space for the toy’s movement. Classic rocking chairs moved forward when used, while the new horse stayed in one place.

The folk art child’s carved fruitwood and cast iron horse child’s tricycle, having three spoked wheels, wooden handles and a black iron frame with pierced patterned supports, provincially made and surviving in charming condition from 1870s France.

A favorite toy of children who could already walk was a pull-along horse on wheels and by pulling it with a string, the horse would tamely follow the child. It did not take very long before these pull-along horses on wheels became large enough to bear the weight of a child and in a short time these toys started to be made for riding which is when this piece would have been made.

Jean Louis Goirdoux for Jugnet was the best maker of these pieces in this period and this example is very much in keeping with his work.

It was probably made by a doting father for his child and inspired by Goirdoux’s design.

A charming piece that would look splendid on a sideboard or in a bay window.

Stallholder George Dolling (Unit 66) is our resident Wedgwood expert, especially early Wedgwood.  He has highlighted 2 pieces from his current collection.

WEDGWOOD CAPRIWARE TEAPOT

This teapot was produced by Wedgwood between 1830 and 1891. It is made from their well known high quality black basalt stoneware (in production since 1768), intended to imitate natural basalt. Its versatility meant that it could be used for all sorts of different designs, from library busts to delicate jewellery.

The shape of the teapot is one of Wedgwood’s most famous, known as shape 146 and can be found in many patterns. The additional polychrome enamel decoration is known as ‘Chinese Flowers’ and when it is applied onto the black basalt the finished result is known as ‘Capriware’.

Drawing on both Western and Eastern traditions, it is a beautiful example of Wedgwood’s 19th Century design and craftmanship.

CAMBRIDGE ALE JUG

The Cambridge Ale Jug was produced by Wedgwood in 1850, they were originally made for the Cambridge University colleges, between 1850 and 1890’s.

Contrary to its appearance, it is not made from terracotta earthenware, but rather from Wedgwood’s ‘Rosso Antico’ stoneware. This stoneware is fired at a higher temperature than traditional earthenware which results in some of its constituent minerals turning to glass.

Like all Wedgwood’s dry bodies, it is non porous making any glaze purely decorative. The quality of Wedgwood’s rosso antico is demonstrated by its fineness of finish and tactile nature.

The Ale Jug is from George’s personal collection, but the teapot is currently for sale in his unit (unit 66)  at Hungerford Arcade.