A Historical Town

Bromyard, a charming town in the heart of Herefordshire, boasts a rich historical heritage that intrigues and captivates visitors. With its origins dating back to the Anglo- Saxon era, Bromyard is a historical town through its well-preserved architecture, ancient relics and interesting stories.

As part of the Destination Bromyard project we wanted to showcase the rich heritage of the town.

The Bentley, Hobbs and Mytton Ghost Sign

This was the boundary wall to the town’s thriving livestock market. Bentley, Hobbs and Mytton were Country Estate Auctioneers, Livestock and Agricultural Merchants, established in 1791. They opened the ‘New Market of Bromyard’ in 1893, with market day on a Thursday, as well
as annual horse sales.

Later, the Bromyard Smithfield Market was opened by Mr Edward Sampson in 1890, with fortnightly sales of Hereford breed cattle and pigs. sheep were sold separately along Sheep Street (now Old Road).

A young auctioneer called Philip Serrell eventually took over the business, then known as JG Lear (incorporating Bentley, Hobbs and Mytton). He now runs his own auction house, which he set up in 1995, specialising in fine art, porcelain and antiques. He is also a TV personality and has written several books about life as a country auctioneer.

Thanks to Cllr Nigel Shaw for the great idea to restore this sign.

Morgan Car Emblem

Bromyard was the nearest town for the Morgan family and they would have been regular visitors, and it was Albert Pettifer’s Garage and workshops here who maintained the Morgan family cars.

When Morgan built the first production Runabout chassis in 1910, Pettifer made the bodies, which were transported to Malvern in his mail van. This continued until Morgan was better established in Malvern, probably until 1912 when he did a deal with Harrods of London to build bodies, whilst Morgan concentrated on turning out hundreds of chassis.

Thanks to Ian Reynolds, Morgan Motor Company and Archivist Martin Web for kindly fact-checking for us.