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Ardingly
Ardingly maps
Historic maps of Ardingly and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Ardingly maps
Ardingly area books
Displaying 1 of 19 books about Ardingly and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Ardingly
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The High Street - Sayer's Store - 'Nim' And Phyl Alen
My name is Barbara Tester and I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
My beloved (late) husband, Brian Tester, was born on 26th July, 1930 at No. 1 Station Cottages, 1 Station Road, Ardingly. His parents were Bartley William Charles Tester and Gladys Evelyn Tester. His father was a stonemason who carried out a number of pieces of restoration work in Sussex throughout his long working life.
The family lived for some years in Eastbourne before moving to Hailsham in the mid 1950s. Brian migrated to Australia in 1952, and we were married in 1955. His brothers, Michael and Richard, and two sisters Anne (Pomroy) and Ethne (Ansfield) all still live in Sussex. Both Brian and Mike were members of St Peter's Church Choir.
During the war, while Dad was in the army, the family was evacuated from Eastbourne (where, like many others, their home was bombed) to Ardingly, where they lived with Aunty Phyl and Uncle 'Nim' who were, at that time, living in 'Cobb Cottage'. Cobb... Read more
West Sussex memories
My Mother
My mother, Beatrice Constable, was born in a little cottage in Balcombe. The happy event took place in a small asbestos bungalow with lots of hydrangeas around the front door. Her parents were Joshua and Elizabeth Constable. Nan had seven boys and seven girls. Some were stillborn and buried in the churchyard under a tree. Does anyone remember this family?
Evac
I was evacuated to Balcombe in 1940 along with the Stanley Technical College pupils from south London. At first, 3 of us were billited at Monks, a large and beautiful home some 3 km out of the village. At that time the Johnston family owned the house. This was a fantastic experience.
We were taught at the village school and the log-cabin scout hut was adapted for our engineering workshop practice. Later, I was billeted at a house adjacent to the railway station. I don't recall the owners' names, but the man of the family owned the only car-repair business in the village. We were resented and not made welcome in this home at all. A miserable experience.
I visited Balcombe from New Zealand in 1990 and found that Monks had become a protected property - owned by the National Trust - or whatever is its NZ equivalent. The log-cabin scout hut was still there, as was the school, and of... Read more
Searching Information For Ancestry Search
My father was born in 1927 in Maple Cottage, Balcombe. The Maple Cottage then was not the Maple Cottage now - does anybody know where it was situated in 1927? His mother was Marjorie Hunt but she did not live in Balcombe. I believe she had the baby, registered him and then moved on. Did anybody take in young women to help them with births?
Any info would be very welcome.
Searching Information For Ancestry Search HUNT
My father was born in 1927 in Maple Cottage, Balcombe. The Maple Cottage then was not the Maple Cottage now - does anybody know where it was situated in 1927? His mother was Marjorie Hunt but she did not live in Balcombe. I believe she had the baby, registered him and then moved on. Did anybody take in young women to help them with births?
Any info would be very welcome.
Gladys From Cornwall With The Red Setter
Back in early 1977 I worked at Brantridge House, Balcombe of which I have very fond memories. Perhaps someone knows how I can make contact with either Gladys from Corwall, or her daughter, who would now (2011) be about 49. Perhaps someone knows how I can contact them or others who worked there at the time - the Spanish pair for example.
Straining The Memory!
I attended primary school at Horstead Keynes briefly until it changed location a few miles away. (I went there as well but can't for the life of me recall the name of the place.) The head mistress was the tall and formidable Mrs. Czerniak, (probably spelt wrongly!), a lady who gave me a good grounding in elementary arithmetic and reading, the latter standing me in good stead ever since. Her husband I think was a Russian emigre, a kind gentleman and a classical violinist of some quality. Their chidren also attended lessons.
Pupils I recall included Lizzie Downward, who sometimes was delivered/collected by her dad in a magnificent open topped Bentley with running boards and hand brake fitted outside the driver's door, and one Edward Greengrass (yes really), who ''didn't know his five times table'', as I once informed my mum. She took this phrase up as some kind of mantra and was fond of repeating it endlessly as a joke and to remind me there was someone else... Read more
