Another Horner horse. The elderly gentleman riding him is my late maternal grandfather, Harry Oliver Trower. We first saw Cloppy in a junk yard at Billingford (Norfolk / Suffolk borders). He was on top of a pile of junk in an open front. ed barn.
All the children instantly fell in love wioth Cloppy. One of the major parts of my fatherly duties was, of course, pointing out difficulties, and one of the major ones here was that two adults, five children, and a large economy sized dog , of the English setter breed and the usual character for this breed (bounding but thoroughly good natured), could be fairly reckoned a carful already. The addition of a Victorian rocking horse into a medium sized family runabout made things very difficult. Ruth tried to help by suggesting that if all the children volunteered to run behind the car to get home, would I then buy the rocking horse?
Being a father who took all fatherly duties seriously, the children eventually won and Cloppy joined the family. A week or two later the Trower Great Grandparents motored over and spent a day with us. Great Grandfather Trower (as you can see) also fell heavily in love with Cloppy (he justified this by explaining that as a boy he'd had a very similar steed).. After tea, he insisted on having a serious chat with me on the subject of the value of a Victorian rocking horse in the sixties, then summoned the younger generation into the conference.
"`I know that your father has bought
Cloppy for you, BUT I know my senior grandson, and I know that when you've all left home, he'll sell this old horse at a vast profit, so bear witness that as senior man present I'm buy
ing the horse for you- and he now belongs in equal parts to all my great grandchildren present, and I get a free ride on him whenever I come and visit you". We settled up - the price I'd payed for the 'oss (£5) he insisted on paying me, and the horse now lives with Elizabeth and her children and grandchild in London, and all the family have access to him, when in London.
Grandfather Trower lived until 1975, and motored over for his annual ride on Cloppy until the summer of the year he died.
3 comments:
ed barn.
And so the story begins... Do go on ... In another comment...please?
Wonderful! I was so pleased when, turning out barns a few years ago, I found my childhood rocking horse, which is splendidly primitive in the best way. It graces our bedroom now.
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