Saturday 14 January 2017

The delights of Leominster


After lunch, in a lovely old pub called the Rose and Crown which was hidden away behind the main street in Ludlow - and which served sandwiches of such monumental proportions we didn't need to eat for a week afterwards! - we dropped back down to Leominster, where there are lots of antique shops.  Voiceover by David Attenborough:  Ah, the antique dealers in their natural habitat . . .

I rather liked the soft dotty green of this dinner service, but it's Susie Coooper so not cheap . . .


This was more of a walk-through room as not a lot there to interest us, but it shows the diversity of what is on offer by various dealers.


Another mixed lot on offer. . .  I was trying to take photos where there weren't people in the same room, so didn't get to photograph some of the more winsome pieces.


BUT, I did get this one - these are absolutely SUPERB.  Not so much the fineness of the potting, but in the subdued movement of both foals playing.  The naughty bay and the chestnut about to retaliate!  Look at the price though . . . that won't even MAKE the same room as my Christmas list for 2017!!



This is a Keith piece - he loves old chests like this, preferably the Armada sort with lots of heavy iron strapping and needs moving with the help of a team of elephants . . .  "Try lifting one end" he invited me.  Well, it doesn't take much imagination to realize I couldn't shift it the minutest bit.


More goodies on offer here.  I loved the inlay on this Court Cupboard.



I have a soft spot for the rush-light holders shown at either end of this display case roof.  The price was a little prohibitive though.



I only realized after taking this photo of the skull (bronze) that the ivory figure beside it, draped in reptiles, looked . . . ahem . . . rather phallic.  Ignore that and concentrate on the skull!



Leominster too has it's narrow alleyways, like Cordwainers Lane, with its Elizabethan? overhang.


Above and below - examples of local craftsmanship.  The owl was particularly attractive.  The price tag reflected the artist's skill.



On the way home we took a loop around Weobley to find some water as we were both thirsty.  I have seen several properties for sale here down the years and wanted to check it out as a possible place to move to.

It is certainly a very attractive village, with a wonderful butchers, local shops, Doctors' surgery etc., and wonderful Magpie architecture.



One final picture through the windscreen of the sun setting over the Brecon Beacons.

15 comments:

  1. I did enjoy a virtual walk around those antique shops with you.
    The Susie Cooper dinner service looks quite an early one ( 20s/30s?). I think the vegetable tureens are kestrel design? I`m not surprised it took your fancy.
    So many lovely things. The Royal Worcester foals had quite a price tag on them!

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    1. Nice aren't they? I thought this set was contemporary enough to use today, but then I have old-fashioned taste! I thought you would recognize the set.

      Some of the price tags in Leominster were eye-watering, but I know that they pay a LOT for a Unit there.

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  2. Gorgeous, but all expensive, I notice modern stuff in our local gallery also has hefty price tags. Think it takes a real jump into the dark to spend thousands on a modern painting.

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    1. The hare and the owl were in the low £300s, but a lot of time and skill had gone into making them. I think there is a fair amount of money in that area to make that an attractive price.

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  4. Ooh BB, so many lovelies! Love the Bovril sign, is that a gilt butter or cheese dish, the boot taker offerer is fab. Wonderful, and what an eerie looking passage Cordwainers Lane is.

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    1. There were some tempting things, and I agree the Bovril sign would be great in a kitchen. I have a friend who lives on the stuff - it would be perfect for her!

      The gilded dish was for cheese, and looks to be a Derby pattern, so that would have been a mortgage price!!

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    2. If you pop across to my blog you will see a cheese dish I found yesterday.

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  5. So lovely to see the photos of Weobley - we stayed for a few nights at The Gables which you can see on the right of your second photo. I agree it is a lovely town and yes I would like to live there too!! - sadly my family are not as in love with Herefordshire as I am. I think my love affair dates back to my childhood as my father's family had lived in the County for several generations and we used to have day's out there a lot. Beautiful area with so much history. I do have sneaky looks from time to time at properties for sale in Weobley!! Sadly, with my son and daughter still being at home it might not be easy for them to find jobs.

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  6. Work is never easy to find in a rural county (probably even worse in Wales!) Several back-to-back jobs are sometimes necessary, as we were once told by locals in Northumberland. I can imagine you are being pulled back by Herefordshire - it is a lovely county, and relatively sparsely populated. Glad you liked the couple of photos though. We will get back and explore properly in the summer.

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  7. Some wonderful things. Did you get anything?

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  8. Not at those retail prices! A few charity shop bargains from Ludlow though, including a lovely brand new jumper for moi.

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  9. Lovely photos, and how I love a browse in such a place. We visited the Quay Antique Centre in Topsham at the weekend, another great place for finding things you didn't know you wanted!
    Margaret P
    www.margaretpowling.com

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  10. A lovely post to read. I must go back to Leominster.

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  11. I would have enjoyed this outing--other than I always worry a bit about clumsily jostling a display in a crowded setting.
    If money were no object the owl would have come home with me. [Isn't money always an object--aarrgh!]

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