The bench, which bears a plaque reading ‘Remembering John Challis (Boycie) 1942-2021’, sits outside the former Budgens supermarket, previously Somerfield and Co-op, which is set to be demolished.
Challis, known for his time on hit show Only Fools and Horses, was a well-known face in the area, regularly making appearances.
Born in Bristol before moving to south east London as a small child, the 19-year-old, who had spent childhood holidays in Symonds Yat, and wife Carole came to Herefordshire in 1998, settling in the historic Abbot’s Lodgings at Wigmore Abbey, which remained their home until Challis’ death after a battle with cancer.
Speaking in 2024, widow Carole noted that another memorial bench had “popped up” for the late actor, this time in Ludlow, in front of the mural painted on the empty supermarket in 2018.
She said Challis “would laugh at the street art behind [the bench] long as it provides a seat for weary shoppers and reminds them how much he loved the town”.
Another bench for John has popped up in Ludlow! He would laugh at the street art https://t.co/iyn6756HB9 long as it provides a seat for weary shoppers and reminds them how much he loved the town…. pic.twitter.com/GxVSpssd3x
— Carol Challis (@BeingBoycie) December 10, 2024
The Ludlow supermarket has lain empty for several years, after the supermarket chain announced in 2017 that it would be closing the shop down.
The future of the Upper Galdeford building, which dates back to the 1980s, has been uncertain for much of that time.
Plans for the building to be converted into 19 apartments and two retail units were submitted in 2019, with permission later granted in 2022 and Councillor Andy Boddington reporting that the site was being sold to Churchill retirement living.
Three years on, the building looks set to go, with Coun Boddington confirming that demolition works are set to start on October 20, but adding that “there is no immediate prospect of a new development on the site, whether that is for business, retail or housing use”.
Coun Boddington said the area will become a “notionally temporary” landscaped garden area in the meantime.
“I suspect it may be in place for years,” he said.
“It will be designed well. But open spaces should be places for people to mingle. More benches. I am keen on a space for young people. I’d welcome views on this.”
He added that the “very popular” Boycie’s bench will be relocated on site while the work is in progress