Exhibition - Friends of Exeter Museums & Art Gallery ~ Choice Exhibition

Chosen by Dr Christine Hall, Vice-Chairman.

Dr Hall writes,
"I first came across the Alphington Ponies while helping to catalogue the prints here at RAMM. Little was known about them, and I was given the job of finding out what I could. Briefly, I found that they were the daughters, named Arabella and Eliza, of Colonel Andrew Durnford of Alphington, Exeter. Their father is reputed to have abandoned his family when he ran away with his daughters' governess. In dire financial straits, the girls, and their mother moved from Alphington to Torquay. Here they were forced to sell their pony and trap from their former life, which led to them receiving their nickname.

The two ladies became notorious for their unvarying afternoon perambulations around Torquay, always dressed alike and speaking to no-one. Another unsubstantiated account puts their eccentricities down to a tragedy in their lives. They were supposedly engaged to two brothers, one of whom accidentally shot and killed the other, and then died of a broken heart. There is much more to tell about the whole fascinating family, which I shall hope to do some time. Meanwhile if anyone knows anything more about them, please do contact me via the Museum, as I should be delighted to learn it."