Downton memories
Here are memories of Downton and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Downton or a Downton photo.
First Love
Having lived at Downton from 1958, I grew up opposite Downton Holiday Camp.
My father owned the builders next to the pub and I bought my first car at the garage 2 doors to the right. Somewhen in the mid 1960s I met the new landlady's daughter, Diane! Well, despite the age gap (I was about 7 and she was 15-ish) we fell madly in love. Seeing as there were only 3 kids living in the hamlet and only one other girl, this was hardly surprising.
The hamlet was 1 pub, 1 garage, a Post Office/store and 2 camp sites in what had been gravel extraction yards. In years to come Shorefield Camp was added between Downton and Seabreeze, and we used to be able to drive through Blackbush to Milford-on-Sea, the next biggest village.
Our house was built about 1925 in Shorefield Road, and my mother of 89 still lives there. As I gaze at these photos all the memories of a brilliant childhood, living... Read more
Memories of Hampshire
Wreck at Hordle Cliff
As a young boy of 9 or so, living in Barton on Sea, sometime around 1952, I remember a ship washing up in a storm on the beach at Hordle Cliff. During the time before it was re-floated, the local youth had the opportunity to clamber all over the wreck. I remember examining the engine room and was quite taken with all the pipework down there. I have not found any references to date about this wreck/grounding on the net. The year could be out by a couple of years.
My Whole Life
I have lived in Everton my whole life. I love the village. I am a respectable citizen of Everton and have lived for nearly 18 years in Frys Lane.
I hope other people enjoy the atmosphere as much as I do.
Makeala x
The Bakery
Who else remembers the smell of that freshly baked bread coming from the bakery here, on the very left of the photo (where the chimneys are)? As I child in the 1960s I would volunteer to go to the bakers and rush home with that hot, freshly baked loaf and devour both crusts.
The Church
I have lots of memories of Milford, where I was born in 1962 and lived for 12 years, next to this church, in Orchard Cottage. I saw many weddings, christenings and funerals. There was always something going on. I went to the Sunday school and have fond memories of Miss Berry, the Sunday school mistress. Such a lovely lady. I was in the choir. My Mother, brother and I used to carry the bread and wine in, for Holy Communion. I used to collect the pretty ribbons and half dead flowers, from the grave decorations, when they were discarded by the gardener. I remember being taught, by my Mother, to always walk at the foot end of graves and never to walk over them. I still do that now. I also remember the lovely, old stone font, unfortunately, now replaced with a hideous wooden one. Hearing the bells every Sunday morning, and the chimes of the hour.
One thing I do remember doing with my friend Sarah, was climbing... Read more
Summer Hols in Milford on Sea
When I was a child, living in Coventry, my parents used to pack me off to Milford to get some fresh sea air and spend quality time with my cousins! My best times were when we went off to buy sweets - I loved Jamboree bags. I learnt to ride a two-wheeler on my aunty Joan's bike and remember lots of gravel in the drive and lots of sore knees in the process. My Uncle George tended the orchards which are now a housing estate - I enjoyed the times spent in the grading shed and listening to the bees in the hives nearby. The churchyard was fascinating to me as I hadn't seen so many graves at close quarters before - I used to talk to the dead, thinking someone might be listening! The beach was pebbly and the water always cold - hot tea and towels were very welcome. I also recall New Forest ponies wandering through the streets as if they owned the place. Total freedom to be me. Happy... Read more
Memorybank total
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Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Wrexham, Clwyd
- Sedlescombe, East Sussex
- Barnehurst, Kent
- Lowestoft, Suffolk
- Forest Row, East Sussex
- Newcastle, County Down
- Bath, Avon
- Knockentiber, Ayrshire
- Cwmaman, Mid Glamorgan
- Helsby, Cheshire
- Stanhope, County Durham
- Strood, Kent
- Carlisle, Cumbria
- Ansdell, Lancashire
- Kirkandrews-On-Eden, Cumbria
- Dagenham, Essex
- Southend Airport, Essex
- Southampton, Hampshire
- Kings Sutton, Oxfordshire
- Smallthorne, Staffordshire
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
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I Remember When...
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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.
