Curiosities of Hungerford

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This is a collection of some of the wonderful oddities about Hungerford. Follow the links to discover more about them:

Combe Gibbet:

The story about the reason for the gibbet being erected is well known locally. But did you know that it has proved impossible to find any records supporting the story?

It’s a double gibbet standing 25 feet high on the summit of Inkpen Beacon, about four miles south of Hungerford, but clearly visible from the town in fine weather. It marks the boundary between Inkpen and Combe, and stands in the middle of a neolithic long-barrow. It is said that there have been seven gibbets in all standing on this site.

The gibbet dates from 1676. Numerous books have been written about it and a wonderful film was made about the story in 1948 by a very young John Schlesinger. John Schlesinger went on to be a world-famous film director (he died in 2003) but his film about Combe Gibbet was his very first film. It was called “Black Legend”.

So what is the gibbet all about?

It was about George Bromham, a farm labourer from Combe – and Dorothy Newman, a widow from Inkpen. And they were in the midst of an illicit relationship. The trouble was that George Bromham was married (to Martha), and they had a son, Robert.

So, George Bromham and Dorothy Newman decided to bump off Martha Bromham and young Robert so they could “carry on” their affair. Allegedly they beat them to death with staves, very close to where the gibbet now stands.

George and Dorothy were arrested and imprisoned in Winchester jail, and the trial took place at Winchester Assizes, on 23rd February 1676.
They were found guilty, and the public hanging duly took place in Winchester on 3rd March 1676.

The judge stipulated that their bodies should be “hanged in chaynes near the place of the murder" to dissuade others from such a heinous act.

Records are said to indicate that George and Dorothy’s bodies were then brought back to Inkpen and laid out in the barn at the back of the Crown and Garter Inn, where they were measured up by the local blacksmith and duly fitted in their chaynes. The barn is reputed to have become a tourist attraction, probably initiated by the landlord, and was renamed 'Gibbet Barn'.

The final hanging of the bodies of George and Dorothy, now bound in their chaynes, took place each side of their double gibbet on 6th March 1676.

It was always said that the record of the trial is to be found in the Western Circuit Gaol Book for the period 22/23 Charles II. Those records used to be in Winchester Library but are now in the National Archives in Kew.

But here’s the curiosity!

Those records have proved elusive. Very recently, experts have been searching the National Archives, they can find the record of all the cases and the hangings from around that year – but curiously there is no sign of entries for George Bromham and Dorothy Newman. No sign at all!

Was this all real fact – or was it maybe just fiction?

For more see Combe Gibbet.

Tommy and “Sonya” Allen, famous entertainers:

We’ve had some famous entertainers in Hungerford over the years – including Johnny Morris, who lived for many years at Hopgrass Farm.

But also important were Tommy and “Sonya” Allen. Tommy and his common law wife Bertha Richards (who was also known as “Sonya” Allen).
Tommy and Sonya settled in Hungerford with his family during the 1940s having moved from Pewsey.

Initially they lived at The Breach (off Priory Avenue) and later at the Thatched Cottage, Bath Road, near what is now the veterinary hospital and Dobbies garden centre.

Tommy could train almost any kind of animals from dogs and monkeys to horses, lions and alligators, which Sonya presented in their show. 

The act was often called Allen’s Menagerie. Their daughter was called Betty. She was a trapeze artiste.

As members of the Powell Brothers’ Victory Circus and the world famous Chipperfield’s Circus, the Allen family regularly toured the English countryside.

The act got bigger, and more exciting – and they sometimes called it “The Lion Show”. They regularly brought their act to Pewsey carnival, and famously at the Hungerford Cricket Club Ball in the Corn Exchange in 1949-50.

Sonya Allen increasingly performed as a lion tamer – and she became known as the “Lady of the Lions”.

Other venues they performed at included Nailsworth, Brecon, Clitheroe, Todmorden, Shipton-on-Stour and Oxford.

One of their acts was extolled as "40 feet of Living Death" and consisted of a girl dressed as a mermaid lying languorously in a cage surrounded by rats and an extremely large snake.

Sonya’s lions weren’t just tiny small young cuddly lions – the act included huge grown-up woman-eating lions!

Tommy died back in 1962 aged 68, but Sonya was alive until 1986. Their daughter Betty died in Kettering around 2005 – the end of an era!

For more see Lady of Lions.

A cure for cancer:

Medical treatments are always improving.

But this is about an amazing treatment that was around in Hungerford right back in 1768, over 250 years ago!

Gilbert White (1720 - 1793) was the well-known pioneering naturalist and ornithologist. He was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire, but he went on to study, research and write about all things in the natural world for so much of his life. He became an acknowledged authority, and one of the main “go-to” people on matters of nature – he was a bit like David Attenborough is now. Gilbert White lived in The Wakes in Selborne, which one can now visit as a sort of museum.

Gilbert White was a prolific letter-writer, and one of his letters makes a curious reference to Hungerford. It was written in Selborne in July 1768, replying to a Thomas Pennant who had contacted him about an alleged cancer cure.

Gilbert White wrote: “I was not very far from Hungerford, and did not forget to make some inquiries concerning the wonderful method of curing cancers by means of toads. Several intelligent persons, both gentry and clergy, do, I find, give a great deal of credit to what was asserted in the papers: and I myself dined with a clergyman who seemed to be persuaded that what is related is matter of fact."!

Now I don’t want to be a party pooper, but his diary entry goes on to cast more than a little doubt on the alleged miracle cure.

For more see Toads in Hungerford.

Hungerford, Rubens and King’s College, Cambridge:

King’s College was founded by Henry VI in 1441, but the Wars of the Roses caused terribly delays, and the chapel was not completed for nearly 100 years – under Henry VIII.

Many of us will have enjoyed watching or listening to the world-famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols sung at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge on Christmas Eve. This service was introduced in 1918 to bring a more imaginative approach to worship and was first broadcast in 1928. It is now broadcast to millions of people around the world. 

But what is the curious link between Hungerford and this historic and glorious event?

The link, rather surprisingly, is through a property in Hungerford’s High Street – Roger King’s Antiques, 111 High Street.

Now, this property has a long and interesting history. Although much of the present building dates from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, we have documented history going right back to 1457. Indeed, we have a nearly complete records of the owners from then until now.

In the 18th century it was an inn – The Craven Arms”, which continued to trade until 1929, when it became a sweet and confectionery shop.

In or around 1952 the sweet shop was run by Angus Allnatt. Angus Allnatt’s father was Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt.

Major Allnatt was a British millionaire, well known as a sporting man, owning many racehorses, a benefactor and a patron of the arts.

Peter Paul Rubens’ famous painting called "The Adoration of the Magi" (dating from 1634) had originally been painted for a nunnery in Leuven, Belgium, which is now a hotel.

But in 1959 Major Allnatt bought the painting from the estate of the Duke of Westminster for a record £275,000.

But just two years later in 1961 he donated this fabulous painting to King’s College Chapel.

But this presented the authorities at King’s with some problems. The painting is huge - (4.2 by 3.2 metres, on wood) - the height of 2½ people!

The only way to present it properly in the 15th century Chapel required some structural changes to be made to the east end to accommodate it. By 1968 it was permanently displayed behind the altar in the east end of the Chapel.

The painting was estimated to be worth $2,400,000 in 1974, when it was damaged by vandals who scratched "IRA" in 2-foot-high letters across the front. It is, of course, now fully restored.

Look out for it when you watch the Nine Lessons and Carols.

For more see 111 High Street.

James Dean memorial:

If you go down to the Croft and the Parish Church of St. Lawrence, you will know that there is the most wonderful item of Hungerford’s heritage – the Tumble Stile.

If you step over the tumble stile and walk towards the church, you will come across one of the very few remaining headstones in that part of the churchyard. In 1973 most of the headstones and memorials were cleared from the churchyard by the Town Council in an effort to reduce the maintenance costs of the churchyard. Hey-ho! It wouldn’t be allowed now!

Anyway, they did leave this particular headstone, because it is really rather special.

It is dedicated to the memory of James Dean. It is really difficult to read, but it is inscribed:

Sacred To the Memory of JAMES DEAN late Bath Coachman
Who departed this Life
June 10th 1827
Aged 36 Years.

Passengers of every age
I safely drove from stage to stage
Till death came by in a hearse unseen
And stop'd the course of my machine.

So this is a memorial to James Dean, an experienced Bath Coachman aged 36 years, who died here in 1827.

This was at the peak of the hugely important “Coaching era”, and at that time Hungerford had about 50 coaches travelling along the Bath Road, and nearly as many on the Oxford to Salisbury road through the town. It was a very busy place.

What I think happened was that James Dean was driving his coach along Charnham Street just when a local undertaker was manoeuvring a hearse carrying a coffin out of his premises.

It seems there was a major collision. The coffin slipped off the hearse and crashed into James Dean's coach - killing him outright.

“Death came by in a hearse unseen
And stopped the course of my machine”.

I think the place where this tragic accident occurred was just opposite The Bear. In the early 20th century this was the site of Mr Annett’s woodworking workshop – where plenty of coffins would have been made by him and, I think, his predecessors in the 19th century.

Have a good look at the headstone when you are next at St. Lawrence’s Church, and think about this tragic accident at the height of Hungerford’s Coaching boom time.

For more see Coaching and St. Lawrence's Church.

The Post Office security feature:

Linked to the important history of coaching is the history of the Postal Service.

The history of the postal service in Hungerford is long and detailed. We know a huge amount about it, going back to the mid 1600s.
I think the first Postmaster for Hungerford would have been appointed around 1670, but the first name we have is Jeremiah Purton in 1690.
Jeremiah Purton was the first of 21 Postmasters we have had in Hungerford.

And we had at least five Post Offices in different parts of Charnham Street and High Street before a grand new Crown Post Office was built in High Street in 1914, right at the start of the First World War.

But I want to share with you one really interesting feature of our Crown Post Office that many of you may not have noticed.

On the front of the building there is a part brick purposely omitted from the front wall below one of the windows. This, along with two carefully positioned handles, enabled the local beat policeman to step up and peer through a clear slit in the otherwise obscured window to check the Post Office safe that was in the room behind the window!

Take a look when you are next walking past.

For more see Crown Post Office, 126 High Street and Postal Service in Hungerford.

1852 Grand Cricket Match at Hungerford Park

Back in July 1852, a really important cricket match took place in Hungerford.

The match was one of many that were held between players of the All England team and local town teams.

The Hungerford match was held on the ground at Hungerford Park.

The All England team included several players who had been playing at Lord's Cricket Ground a few days earlier (on 19th-21st July) in one of the regular Gentlemen v Players matches before they travelled to Hungerford to play on 26th-28th July.

As was usual at the time, there were 22 players allowed in the local team.

The remarkable thing about the match was the result: England were disposed of for 12 runs only! This was their lowest innings on record.

A painting of the match, and the full ball by ball desctiption and score care can be seen here.

For more see 1852 Grand Cricket Match at Hungerford Park.

1990 World Record by Hungerford man:

We have a long list of very important and successful residents of Hungerford – many are detailed on the Virtual Museum website.

However, I am aware of only one Hungerford resident who gained a World Record.

This happened in 1990.

The World Record for this event had been held by a chap called Fred Spofforth. Actually he was known as Fred “The Demon” Spofforth – and he was a national hero as an Australian Test Cricketer. Fred had held this particular World Record for 112 years! Since 1878.

Fred's world record from 1878 was for throwing a raw egg!! He had thrown it 45.72 metres.

But ... in 1990 Peter Keen of Hungerford threw his egg a magnificent 87.12 metres!

All of this was reported in the Canberra Times of 18th April 1990, and it was kindly sent to me so that I could add it to the Virtual Museum.

Now, you may say. I’m sure I could do that. To throw an egg 87 metres sounds quite possible.

Here’s the thing. The thrown egg had to remain INTACT after being thrown! That doesn’t sound quite so easy! And the rules also stipulate that each thrower was allowed just half-a-dozen hen's eggs which must not be more than two days old.

Just one further thing. I bet you can’t guess where this World Championship raw egg throwing was held in 1990? In Aldbourne!!

The egg organising committee gave Admiral Anthony Davis, 80, the job of line judge. He wore a pith helmet that he used to wear when he was on colonial service in India. "There's not a lot of arguing when the Admiral is about." a committee member said.

On celebrating his success, Peter Keen said "I came here as a beginner and am leaving in the world record books." 

So we should raise a glass to Peter Keen of Hungerford – World Champion!

For more see 1990 Egg throwing World Record.

The Charvolant:

A man called George Pocock was born in Hungerford in 1774. He was the son of a John Pocock, a cabinet-maker and his wife Joan.

George loved kites, and growing up in Hungerford in the 1780s, he was also very aware of the hustle and bustle of all the coaches travelling through the town. As you know, Hungerford was a very busy coaching town.

George Pocock’s interest in kites developed more than for most of us. From an early age he experimented with pulling loads using kite power, gradually progressing from small stones to planks and large loads.

As an adult, he moved to Bristol, and was a schoolteacher. He taught at a school in Prospect Place, Bristol and continued his experiments with his pupils.

By 1820 he had determined that in combination they could support considerable weight and began experimenting with man-lifting kites.

In 1824, he used a 30-foot (9 m) kite with a chair rig to lift his daughter, Martha (the future mother of cricketer W.G. Grace) over 270 feet (82 m) into the air.

Later the same year and continuing to use his family as subjects, he lifted his son to the top of a cliff outside Bristol; his son briefly dismounted from the chair at the top of the 200-foot (60 m) cliff and then concluded the test by releasing a clip on the kite line which allowed him to slide down the line in the chair and return to earth.

Having concluded that kites were capable of lifting humans, he turned again to experimenting with them as a way of pulling loads, this time as a method of pulling vehicles.

Using kites in various arrangements he determined that a small number of large kites were capable of pulling a carriage – with passengers.

And so The Charvolant was born! It was a sort of kite-drawn buggy!

In 1826, he patented the design of his "Charvolant" buggy. This used two kites on single line 1,500 to 1,800 feet long to provide enough power to draw along a buggy carrying several passengers at considerable speed, similar to the modern sport of kite buggying. In his book on the topic, Pocock records that it performed at the rate of 20 miles an hour over considerable distances and that a mile could frequently be covered even over heavy roads in 2¾ minutes.

A group of three Charvolants made a trip of 113 miles (182 km) together, and on a run between Bristol and Marlborough, one of the buggies sailed past the mail coach, which at the time was the fastest passenger transport.

On another trip, a Charvolant passed the coach of the Duke of Gloucester, a breach of etiquette that was considered so rude that the occupants had to stop to let the Duke pass them.

Four control lines to the kite provided a method of steering; these lines were paid out or drawn in from large spools mounted on the front of the carriage. Large wheels allowed the carriage to utilise the power from the kites effectively. In addition to controlling the kites, the driver had to steer the carriage by means of a T-bar which controlled the direction of the front wheels, and was responsible for the brake, an iron bar mounted on the carriage which dug into the road when the lever was pulled.

Controlling the Charvolant was difficult, and this may have been why it never became successful commercially, even though it escaped the tolls levied on the roads for horse-drawn carriages: tolls were applied according to the number of horses and since the Charvolant had none it incurred no charge.

Pocock was full of energy. He founded the Tent Methodist movement, published books on many topics, and invented loads of other clever things.

He died of bronchitis at his home in Bristol on 9th November 1843, aged 69 – but…it all started with flying kites on Hungerford Common!

For more see George Pocock and The Charvolant.