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Bilting
Bilting maps
Historic maps of Bilting and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Bilting maps
Bilting photos
We have no photos of Bilting, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Wye| Godmersham| Eastwell| Chilham| Brook| Kennington| Perry Wood| Westwell| East Hill| Willesborough| Selling| Shalmsford Street| Chartham| Petham| Ashford| Hothfield| Brabourne Lees| Smeeth| Charing| Boughton-Under-Blean| Great Chart| Canterbury
Bilting area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Bilting and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Bilting
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Kent memories
Who Ran The Victoria
My family are Hopkins' from Wye. John and then his sister Sarah ran this pub during the 1850's to 1890's.
Year/Publican or other Resident/Relationship to Head and or Occupation/Age/Where Born/Source.
1855/J Hopkins -Post Office Directory
1858/John Hopkins -Melvilles Directory
1862/John Hopkins- Post Office Directory
1882/Mrs Sarah Hopkins -Post Office Directory
1891/Peter Green -Post Office Directory
1913/Mrs Amelia Back -Post Office Directory
1918/Mrs Amelia Back- Post Office Directory
1922/Mrs Amelia Back- Post Office Directory
1930/Mrs Amelia Back- Post Office Directory
1938/Wm Foster- Post Office Directory
Policeman's Daughter
My father was the village policeman, William Fenwick. We lived next to the village police station at 19, Upper Bridge Street, Wye. I have two sisters, Pauline and Jacqueline who went to the local primary school. There was a villlage sweet shop on upper bridge Road called Holland's which was run by an ancient old couple who virtually gave the sweets away half the time. When I left school I went to work at Wye college as a laboratory technician. We left the village in 1972. They were happy times in a beautiful village. My father loved being a policeman, there and had many interesting stories to relate about the locals and the local gentry!
Godmersham Post Office
We visited and stayed at the Post Office, village shop and off licence in 1973. My mother Mrs Oliver had just taken over as Post Mistress. My mother had given up a teaching post in Liverpool to be nearer her own mother who lived in Westgate on Sea. She ran it until 1982 when she retired to Herne Bay and took up freelance teaching in her spare time. I would be interested to know of any history relating to the Post Office as it had a lovely garden and was an interesting building
Oh Happy Days
1st white house on left was the 2nd post office where I had to go every morning to collect and deliver all the Chilham newspapers around the village for the grand sum of £2 per week. Post master then was a Ken Parker, I had to finish by 8am to catch Herbi Arnold's school bus to get to Chartham Secondary School.
My First Flat
No I'm not joking, when we first got married we lived in a flat in Chilham Castle which was at the time above the Battle of Britain museum at the rear of the castle, yes it was cold there in the winter. We were allowed to walk around the lakes and gardens, whenever we wished. My father was the local village policeman, PC Bill Bishop. who managed to persuade a certain Lord Mazzerin to rent it out to us. Mice, yes, they were in abundance, the record then was 21 in two days, what did I do with them all you may ask? My wife would throw them out of the window in disgust of condition of the castle. Just beneath our flat there was also a small cafe, they sweep up all the bodies and wonder where they kept coming from!
Many A Beer Here
Many a beer here I have downed, served by the landlady who was then locally known as Brandy Lil, I can't imagine why though?
Don't Get Caught!
The Rev Lawson caught three of us smoking in the graveyard here, he then said he would tell my dad unless we all swept up the leaves around the main church door, which we all did. My dad was the local copper then, and a clout round the ear I would have got!!
