Denford Park memories
Here are memories of Denford Park and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Denford Park or a Denford Park photo.
Denford Park
I came here from Austria with my sister to work as au-pair girls in this boarding school. We found an ad in a German newspaper for girls to help with domestic chores etc. My sister and I wrote to the Mother Superior, (Mother Magdalene John) applying for the job(s), and to our surprise we got a reply back within a week from Mother Superior, offering us both jobs straight away! Needless to say we were over the moon having been given the opportunity to go abroad to work and learn the language. But convincing our parents that we really wanted to go was no easy task, anyway, eventually they consented and we packed our bags and set off on this new adventure. Back in 1959, people rarely went abroad to work. so it was very exciting indeed! We took the train from Mayrhofen in the Zillertal to Innsbruck and from there the train to Ostende in Belgium. Taking the ferry to Folkestone and the train to Victoria. from... Read more
Happy Days at Denford Park
I spent three happy years at Denford - the nuns loved us to pieces, and I felt that they always acted in our best interests (though maybe nowadays one might frown at some of the 'best practices' of those days ... but fashions change ....).
Sister Mary Ben driving a tractor as we picked potatoes in the autumn, picking snowdrops for Covent Garden Markets in February, roller skating, playing in overgrown bomb craters (magical - really!). Sister Mary Peter's library, our gardens with Sister Mary Anrew, roast potatoes, bread and cheese, but junket - juck. More privileged pupils had riding, dancing and tennis lessons, but I never felt disadvantaged by not having any of these 'extras.' The nuns inadvertently instilled us with the basic principles of feminism long before it became trendy. It was an all female world (except for ancient Father Darcy and Othello the handyman) and we absorbed the feeling that we (future women) were capable of doing whatever we... Read more
School, Denford Park.
I wrote a while back, does anyone ever read any of the messages written? I asked if anyone knows what happened to the Catholic convent run by nuns at Denford House? it became Norlands Nannies, but what happened after that? I also know that it is haunted!
School!
Memory of the hated Catholic school I was sent to, me being one of three Church of England girls, meant I was treated like an outcast! Beautiful house, and grounds, I learnt to ride there, it was my only way to get away from those awful nuns in their long black habits. I loved the horses, all the time I was there you would find me with them, or standing in the passage at night in the dark facing the wall, while the rest of the world slept! Spooky! Oh yes, detention was my second name. Such a shame that wonderful house and grounds belonged to the church, a lot of cruelty went on there, thank God I wasn't sent on to its sister school, New Hall! It went on to become Norland Nannies after that, I would be interested to know what happened to it.
Memories of Berkshire
Best Place to Live
We moved to Hungerford in 1987 just two months before Michael Ryan shot 14 people. See that white house way down on the left with one window in the top, well I lived in the house just after that. You can't see it very well but it is sited on one of the old mills and is called Mill Hatch. So called because the hatch where the water turned the wheel is still in the back garden. We had trout that lived in the garden and I would fish for them with string and bread but no hooks. They took the bait immediately and I would be able to lift them out of the water before they slipped off the string and fell back into the water. I wonder if they are still there?
Roxtons Doorway
We lived for 9 years a few doors behind where the photographer is standing. The shop with the awning on the right was Roxtons, a very trendy 'hunting shooting and fishing' shop where you had to be landed gentry to get in the door. If you were to watch from our upstairs window shortly after closing time, every night, the same guy would stagger up the road and have a pee in Roxtons doorway. With his heavy beard, and the same annorak worn every night in every weather, it was a most disturbing spectacle! I wonder how the paintwork is standing up?
Tracing my Family
Hi can anyone help, I am trying to trace my family tree, the lady I am looking for is Kate Collins, she was a maid in service to a Lord Cutlip/Cudlip?
Ancesters
My great grandmother was born in Kintbury in 1844. Her name was Sarah Holmes she married somone with the surname of Millin. She eventually moved to London and became Sarah Horne. Is there anyone in Kintbury today who recognises these names?
Can a local historian tell me about Kintbury in the 19th century?
Jenni Morris
All Good Things Started at Boxford
I have very early memories of Boxford Primary School. The school teachers were Mr and Mrs Alderman, Mr taught the older children and Mrs the young infants. I attended both, I started in the infants and sat next to a Jennifer Fox, then moved on to the juniors, We had good times playing in the play ground. People who I remember are: Gerald and Andrew Schmidt (sadly Gerald was murdered, God bless him, he was a great guy), Raymond Childs, Chris, Treavor and Richard Cannings, Kevin, Chris, Russell, Ashley and Anita Knape, Kevin Tarbox, Fatty Sharp, Robert Kemp, Tim, Anne Blunt, and lots more.
I remember doing country dancing, in a strange way I really enjoyed it.
I also remember leaving school in the afternoon and running like mad down to Mr and Mrs Stancliff's who owned the mill, they used to leave a message to say if we could use their swimming pool, it was fantastic fun in those days. Mrs Stancliff would bring out orange squash for us... Read more
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 28,862 memories of 5,949 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Ribbleton, Lancashire
- Penruddock, Cumbria
- Winchmore Hill, Greater London
- Parkgate, Merseyside
- Worcester, Worcestershire
- Pant, Shropshire
- Nazeing, Essex
- Crook, County Durham
- Weaverham, Cheshire
- South Godstone, Surrey
- Byker, Tyne and Wear
- Wrexham, Clwyd
- Southgate, Greater London
- Streatham, Greater London
- Beeston Castle, Cheshire
- Newcastle, County Down
- Stanhope, County Durham
- Watford, Hertfordshire
- Lundin Links, Fife
- Cwmaman, Mid Glamorgan
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
