The Village 1889, Burwash
The Village 1889, Burwash Ref: B291501
Memories of The Village 1889, Burwash
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Burwash & local memories
Read and share memories of Burwash and East Sussex inspired by Frith photos.
Batemans - My Grandfather
My grandfather, A J Hurd, was, for a time, Rudyard Kipling's head gardener at Batemans. He, my grandmother and my mother (now Joyce Richardson) and her sister (now Barbara Wainwright) lived in one of the cottages (which still exists) near the mill adjacent to Batemans. In addition to his responsibilities in the gardens, Grandpa also worked with the private hydro-electric turbine generator (which also still exists) which provided electricity to the house. That work is referred to in a letter of reference Mrs Kipling wrote for Grandpa when he moved on, which my mother still has. She also still has the letter Rudyard Kipling wrote to the local education authorities explaining to them that my mother was too young to have to walk the considerable distance to the local school, and was so bright that waiting another year wouldn't hurt!
Growing up
I have some very happy memories of growing up in and around Burwash. Both sets of my grandparents lived in Swife Lane. Mr and Mrs Frederick owned Corner Farm, where my mum grew up, and Mr and Mrs Smith lived in Byeways. I remember as a small child, we would go and visit my grandparents. If we stayed at Byeways, we would all go to the "The Bear", owned by Carol and Norman back in the 1970s. I remember I used to run down the bottom of the garden and stand on the wooden fence and look out over the fields. It was wonderful. I remember some of the regulars too that used to drink in The Bear. Mrs Todd, who was a tiny little lady who had a little Jack Russel dog, and a wonderful man my grandmother and every one else used to call Pip. I always remember being fascinated with a painting that hung in The Bear. It was a painting of all the regulars back in... Read more
School Memories at St.Josephs
I went to school at st.Josephs Salesian school a mile outside Burwash from 1939-1946
I recall there were about 10 pubs in the village and I stayed one summer with the Davies family who lived just before the church in a smugglers house where we went to bed through a hole in the wall .I remember the Hollamby's,Miles'and the Woodalls who were day boys.we all had some exciting and sometimes harrowing times during the war.I have been writing my autobiography with pictures for my family and recall a great deal of the eight years spent at the school.I was a Londoner I went there when I was 5 and my job was feeding the chickens helping hand milk the cows and using the shire horse to hay rake etc I spent 50 years farming through my work at Burwash.Of course it was a real village in those days,Last time I visited it was a vacant place with commuter jobs. and few real locals!!
