There is a strong tradition of bears around Paxton House.  Visitors cannot fail to have noticed that Paxton Ted has a presence in the house and pops up at events, in artwork on the walls and even in our social media posts. Paxton Ted has been part of Paxton House’s identity since 1997 and has become a much loved member of the team. There are other bears around here too. Once bears were hunted in the forests along the river Tweed, though probably not since the Ice Age.  Berwick-upon-Tweed, our nearest town, has a bear as its symbol. Actually old English bere means barley so any association with bears must be derived from a medieval pun on the name  – ‘bear’ plus ‘wych’  (the wych elm is the variety usually found in Scotland). Bear-wych, get it?! Ha ha ha! (perhaps humour has moved on a bit). You can spot the bear on the town’s coat of arms which appear on the front of the old Corporate Arms pub on the bridge over the river Whiteadder which used to mark the limit of the town boundary.

There was a celebrity bear living just three miles from Paxton House at Winfield Airfield in the 1940s. Wojtek the Soldier Bear was a Syrian brown bear who served with the Polish army’s 22^nd Transport Unit in World War II in Palestine and Italy and then in Berwickshire. He was not just a mascot, he was actually recruited as a serving soldier with his own ID papers and he performed vital work carrying ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944.  The Polish soldiers loved him too and used to visit him in Edinburgh Zoo when he retired there in 1947. He’d recognise them and try to cadge a cigarette or a beer, to the disapproval of the zoo keepers. Wojtek is remembered with a statue in nearby Duns and in Princes Gardens in Edinburgh. What a bear!

No one has put up a statue to Paxton Ted yet, but he has lots of fun peeking out at children from all the rooms at Paxton on our house tours and this year he has been immortalised in watercolour by our artist-in-residence JagArt82 who will be back with some new art sessions early next year. Paxton Ted comes to life sometimes, so you have a chance of meeting him face to face at some of our events in 2024. You still have time between now and 22 December to get your own tiny Paxton Ted from the pop-up shop in the Stables Tearoom. Or maybe one of those gorgeous portraits and pop him on your wall instead. Buy a gift card for a house tour or an event next year, pop a Paxton Ted in the parcel and you have a really original gift for Christmas with something to look forward to at the end. And you can always take the kids on a bear hunt in the woodland gardens this winter……… I’m not scared….

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