Chartham, the Asylum Entrance 1903

Hop Picking

I have good memorys of Chartham. My family used to go hopping every year. We were on a Mr Finn's farm untill the late 1950s when he stopped the hand-picking. I would like to get some photos of the hopping huts we stayed in for 6 weeks. When Mr Finn ceased picking we went down the road to another farm, it was called Robson Farm but later it became Hulmes Farm. I still go back to re-live the good old times, allthough it has changed so much. We stopped hand-picking on Hulmes Farm in the late 1970s.
Don.

Asylum

My ancestor Jecoliah Coleman (nee Roberts) was admitted to the Chartham asylum in the late 1800's, and died here in 1915. She had a husband and 2 sons still alive so I wonder why she needed to be admitted, poor woman.

Beech House

Beech House was the school attached to St. Augustines,which used to be the County Asylum. I was there from 1964-66. I always found the people of Chartham top be lovely and kind. I remember walks down to the church and mill,and waiting on the station to go home for the holidays. I have only fond memories of Chartham and it's people

The old mill

The mill bridge shown in the photograph was washed away in a flood in the 1960's. Unfortunately the mill pond was a favourite place for some children to swim in then. We lost one of the children on the hospital estate by drowning there in the pond, whose name was Billy Johnson, whose parents worked as nurses at St Augustine's in 1963. He is buried in Chartham cemetery.

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!!