09 March 2011

H is for Horse trough


In Jewry Street there is a trough which is a memorial to all the horses killed in the South African War 1899-1902. It was presented to the City of Winchester by Mrs Isabella Clowes who lived here for 69 years. It's believed around six hundred thousand horses died during the Boer War. It was originally a working water trough, but now is full of plants. I don't think I have ever seen a horse in Winchester, although outside of the city, particularly to the south, there are lots of stables and riding centres.

For more 'H' related posts see ABC Wednesday

19 comments:

  1. It's hard to imagine wars still fought on horseback. It pains me to think of 600,000 nice horses killed. But it's wonderful that people thought to make them a memorial like this!

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  2. Good. I am happy to see that. When I was in Japan there was a large monument to all the horses killed in their wars. And in the small village where I was born and grew up the town had two water troughs with water well hand pumps and a tin cup to drink out of with the spigot over the troughs. They were for the horses whose masters rode them or in buggies they pulled into town. The horses could be watered which benefited them very much. I used to get many a drink of cold water out of those pumps when I was out in the village playing and it was hot and I got thirsty. The troughs finally were done away with but I don't know when or where they went but they were there long after the horses and buggies stopped coming to town.

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  3. I am just trying to think about that number; 600,000.It breaks my heart.
    Jane x

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  4. 600,000 horses killed, I wonder how many people. Staggering either way. Great shot and thanks for a tidbit of history I did not previously know anything about. I actually have never heard of the South African War, I'm going to Wikipedia it now.

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  5. Beautiful plants and a nice memorial for all thos poor horses!

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  6. You have some rare collection of pictures!

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  7. What a beautiful use for the trough!

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  8. so many wars; even the 'minor' ones are devastating. but love the trough
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  9. Nice one.

    Please come to my Homepage for my H, hope to see you.

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  10. How fascinating! We always remember the soldiers who were killed, but when you think back, they would have been on horseback and so many of them died, too! What a wonderful memorial.

    Leslie
    ABCW Team

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  11. How interesting. I think I remember reading about the loss of horse life but had no idea there was a memorial. Great post!

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  12. The bus stop where I used to catch the bus as a kid was called the "Watering Trough" - I've no idea if the trough is still there. The only working watering trough I've seen in recent years was in Blackpool where of course they have horses pulling carriages along the promenade.

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  13. I really like the idea of a memorial to horses. They need one of these in Ocala, FL as it is the horse capitol of the world!

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  14. It's a huge number of horses, poor things. We have a few old drinking fountains dotted around the city, but none of them work - probably health & safety!

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  15. i'm not familiar with this one, thanks for the input. Good choice for H entry.

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  16. A great entry for H day and a great tribute to the horses!
    And a lovely use for the trough too!
    Thanks for sharing;o)

    ***
    Happy day****

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