Cousley Wood memories
Here are memories of Cousley Wood and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Cousley Wood or a Cousley Wood photo.
Annie Charlotte Funge
Ever since I was a young boy I had an interest in knowing where my grandmother was born. She was born 1883, the youngest daughter of James William Funge and Annie Hayward.
Sadly she passed away in Christchurch, NZ in 1963, reaching there as a war bride in 1918 after marrying my grandfather Percy Gourdie, at Wadhurst Parish church 27 April 1918.
In 1966 I started working as a shipping clerk and my goal was to travel to England and visit Cousley Wood and see my Great Aunt Frances Funge whom I had heard so much about.
In 1968 we learnt from her nephew Raymond Ralph she had died after illness. In August 1968 I left NZ arriving Heathrow 1 September. Towards end of September my first visit to Cousley Wood took place with the help of my 2nd cousin Raymond and we motored down to Sussex on the A21. We first visited the Wadhurst Parish Church and I saw the resting place of Aunt Frances and... Read more
Miss Frances Funge
Miss Funge was my great aunt. I stayed with her and her friend Miss Nellie Payne, as a child, in summer holidays. She lived in School House, Cousley Wood. She taught in the school for 50 years, starting at the age of 16. She also played the organ at the Cousley Wood Church from when she was 18. I spent a lot of time at the farm next door, run by Mr Hobbs, where I learnt to milk a cow! Very many happy days were spent there. Aunty France (as I called her) was firm but very, very kind. In School House there was no gas or electricity, just one inside cold tap, and also an outside toilet. Cooking was done on a paraffin stove from which was produced wonderful meals, cakes and biscuits. Oil lamps and candles were used, and lovely open fires. My father (her nephew) tried to persuade her to have electricity installed, to no avail. She preferred life as it was.
There was a sweet... Read more
Memories of East Sussex
People at Scrag Oak
I remember working at weekends and school holidays at Scrag Oak. I was still at school and worked there for about two years. The house and farm was owned by Mr George Edward-Jones (the spelling may be wrong). The one full time employee was Bill Bull. Bill and I built several pigsties that were still in existence the last time that I visited there. I remember working in the winter of 1962-1963. I used to travel to the farm on some old skis and was one of the few people that could make it through the huge snowdrifts. I can clearly recall the difficulty of providing fresh water for the pigs, chickens and bullocks that we kept there. One day we attached a brand new hose to a tap and turned the water on; the water froze solid before it reached the end of the hose pipe. I forget the exact temperatures reached, but the max/min thermometer reached negative figures on several occasions. You may not think that this was... Read more
Childhood Memories
This view brings back many childhood memories, I was born in the cottage on the right hand edge of the picture, in 1947, growing up on the farm there, and have lived within three miles of the area for the majority of my life.
Ticehurst
My name is David Effer and we lived in Ticehurst from 1954 to 1968 when we left for Australia. We lived in Springfields and I had 4 brothers and two sisters. My father worked at Ticehurst House as a chef. Mum and dad have passed on now and one sister lives in Sicily.
Singehurst Pond
Singehurst pond was the place for both girls and boys to go fishing with their bags of dampened bread and makeshift fishing rods. Throughout the season we caught loads and then returned our catch at the end of an outing, sometimes staying out all day. It was an excuse to meet up with friends and other village children with the same idea.
This was memorable, but more so were the occasional winters when the water froze over to several inches thick, and all the village children (and some adults) made their way there to slide on the ice. My friend, Julia, and I did whenever we could. The ice creaked continuously and ominously, but we were ever ready to drop to our knees and crawl to safer places.
Skating with only our shoes was one of the few unusual and fun winter memories, along with sliding down the nearby steep field on a straw-stuffed plastic bag!
Taken From The Spot I Grew Up:
It took me a while to recognise the angle of this photo as from almost exactly the position my parents house was built on! Where the road ahead divides, another road to the left was later added, leading to my father's fruit farm which I grew up working on.
The view in the photo is unhindered by the present housing developments of St Mary's Close and St Mary's Lane, as well as this year's (2007) new development on the old council yard. The piece of land in front of the camera is where Marlpit Gardens now stands.
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