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Downham
Downham maps
Historic maps of Downham and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Downham maps
Downham photos
We have no photos of Downham, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Wickford| Crays Hill| Rettendon Common| Stock| Billericay| Battlesbridge| Nevendon| East Hanningfield| Galleywood| Pitsea| Basildon| Laindon| Great Tarpots| Hullbridge| Great Baddow| Ingatestone| Widford| Rayleigh| Mountnessing| Benfleet| Langdon Hills| Thundersley| Fryerning| Danbury| South Benfleet| East Horndon| Hadleigh| Woodham Mortimer| West Horndon| Bulphan
Downham area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Downham and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Downham
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Essex memories
Harrow Farm
My grand x3 grandfather James Sewell lived at Harrow Farm, he worked as a farm labourer. There was land named Sewells land which was auction by the Boggis estates and sold in 1914. Another ancestor, James, was a publican and wife Emily worked at the 'Leather Bottle' pub on the Downham Road. I have ancesters buried in St Peter's churchyard and also married at Downham. I wonder if anyone knows what happened to the land, farm or pub?
Wickford And Runwell Hospital
I got a job as a Junior House Officer at Runwell Hospital in March 1958 and worked there for a year, initially living in the hospital residence and then, after I married in Dublin, Ireland later the same year, moved into a very small flat in Wickford Hall on the Southend Road. I recall that it was a muddy place during that Winter! A Mabel and Curly Thurley lived in Flat 4 and were very welcoming to the new immigrants. Runwell Hospital was one of the premier hospitals in England for its Research and Treatment programmes at that time. I see that it may be now closed.
We made many friends at Runwell Hospital and in Wickford. The Sisters Skeggs and Jones were particularly welcoming and made the small village of Wickford a good experience for us. There was not much entertainment available but Southend-on-Sea and London were easily reached, so lightening the times. We moved to Virginia Water to a promotion in my work the following year when... Read more
Wickford And District Land Co Ltd 1932
I have just come across a resolution of the directors of Wickford and District Land Co Ltd dated 4th April 1932 and in it the shareholders were Mr H Hooper Mr R. D. Steel, Mrs K Fisher and Mr E.R. Ashdown. Messrs Hacker, Rubens, Gotelee and St Clair of 329 High Holborn W.C.1 were appointed auditors, and they made a purchase of part of the land of South Hanningfield Hall, Essex, from Mr William Fisher.
This Church Was Completed About 1964
Saint Andrew's was built and completed in 1964.
Living in Wickford
I lived in Wickford until 1963. My sisters and I would walk down London Road to the high street, first stopping at the little sweet shop and then looking into the windows of Prentice. I got my first 2 wheeler there in 1954.
We would go the pictures in what later became Woolworths, the site of my first Saturday job.
The Coop was in the high street and was the busiest shop.
My dad had Barclays account number 2.
Good Old Days?
I remember walking past this point on shopping trips with my mother, being dragged along (wasn't good at walking) or on my way to/from school. I was born in 1953 in Sugden avenue where bungalows had massive areas of land (maybe I was small) with them and even a caravan on one plot.
I also remember standing outside the pub with a bottle of coke and an arrowroot biscuit (dog biscuit, wonderful biscuit by Meredith & Drew if only they were still around)
My Mother & Father both hairdressers used to work in the town, my father worked in a shop on the righthand side going up high street towards the pub.
My Grandmother lived at the top of Southend road in School house, another memory in that area as we moved a few times but always came back to my Grandmother in between houses.
I do remember Egan's buying my first record there for 6s & 4d.
Memories of the school with a swimming pool and the... Read more
Newly Wed
I had lived in Basildon and married a Dagenham man in 1975, we moved to a turning called Woodfield on the newly built Moody Estate off Nevedon Road. To go to the shops or rail station, we had to pass Hall's Corner. I remember a green grocers (where I left behind a bag of tomatoes I had just brought), a newsagent and art shop being there back then. I use to love going to the market just behind the shops. We moved to Ilford in 1981 (he wanted to move as the rail season tickets were getting expensive). I still hope to move back to Wickford one day.
