'Where's Hoppy?' - We asked shoppers if they know the current location of iconic Walsall landmark
Hoppy the hippo is known to mysteriously move around the town from time to time.
Walsall is known for many things: saddle making, the Arboretum, and Sister Dora. But, do you know about its most iconic figures, Hoppy the hippo?
Poor Hoppy is often forgotten about when outsiders talk about what is great about the town, but for us Walsallians, or Saddlers (depending on who you ask), Hoppy is a staple of our town centre.
What’s especially interesting about Hoppy is that no one really knows why she was created. She was sculpted by John Wood in 1972, is made of reconstructed stone, and was inspired by the Egyptian goddess Taweret, but everyone still jokingly asks the same question, “Why?”
Being around 54 years old, Hoppy is a middle-aged girl (I always imagined Hoppy as a female hippo); however, that doesn’t make her any less sprightly, as she is often seen frequenting many locations around the town centre.
So, with all this in mind, we decided to play a game that we are calling ‘the Walsall Safari’, and went to see how many people know where our happy little hippo is currently living.
When asked, one shopper said: “I think it’s down by the council house, I don’t really know.
“It’s always moving. I remember it being outside of the old Lloyds bank.”
Once it was installed, the statue was so popular that an event was organised in 1979 called the ‘Hippo Leaping World Championship’, with hundreds of people jumping over the statue to raise money for charity.
Another shopper, who seemed a bit in a rush, simply said: “I have absolutely no idea.
“But it used to be near the old Woolworths, I think.”
So far, it didn’t seem like our locals knew exactly where the statue was, but after a few tries, our eagle-eyed hippo fanatics soon appeared.
Amy-Mae Taylor, of Blakenall, said: “It’s by the library building, next to the council house.
“It’s been all over the place.”
Another shopper said: “Hoppy is near the council house.
“I remember telling people to ‘meet me by the hippo’, back in the day, she’s a landmark’.
And they were both correct, Hoppy is indeed now living in front of the Walsall Central Library, where she stands guard near the entrance building.
And with that, the safari was over, and the mystery over the location of Hoppy was solved once again, at least until she finds another home that is.
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