Flower show shield is Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Object of the Month for January

Amy Saunders, owner of Floral Desire in Newtown Road, selects a shield awarded to Horatio Harrison at the Bishop’s Stortford Flower Show in 1905 as Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Object of the Month for January

“As a florist, I love flowers and chose this item because it’s a beautifully decorated shield and must have been won by someone who also loved flowers,” says Amy.

It is hallmarked Birmingham 1904 and is decorated with flowers, fruit and vegetables.

The shield was sponsored by Toogood and Sons, Southampton. Toogood seed merchant was established in 1815 by William Toogood. They proudly advertised that they were “seedsmen to the King and for 50 years to the late Queen Victoria”.

In 1954 the company was taken over by Finneys Seeds, but still traded as Toogood until being eventually swallowed up by Bookers Seeds in the 1960s.

The museum archives did not reveal anything else about that occasion, but did have a programme from the 1930 flower show, held, by kind permission of Tresham Gilbey, at Silver Leys.

Billed as the 56th annual show, it included afternoon and evening entertainment from singers, magicians, clowns, the town band and a demonstration with live bees!

There were live pig and fowl competitions, Punch and Judy shows and Thurston’s Amusements.

Interestingly, the small programme devotes a whole section to instructing people not to stand on, allow their children to stand on or to move the chairs which are provided, free, around the ground.

To view the shield, the flower show programme and other Objects of the Month, go to the first floor of the museum at South Mill Arts.