Longham

A Memory of Ferndown.

My name is Frances I was born in 1948 at Rose cottage which was opposite the Angel pub. I was about 3 or 4 yrs old I was taken over to the pub and sat outside the back door with a bottle of pop. At the back was a farm - not sure if it was part of the pub. I remember riding a big pig.
My uncle, Steve Baxter, well thats what I called him, lived with my Grandmother as a lodger. He always took me over to the pub. I expect he was baby sitting. The cottage on the edge of the road was always having cars smashing into it. I think they changed the contour of the road some time later.
My uncle Steve and my grandmother worked at the zoo. Uncle Steve used to help look after the animals and I remember going into the lions den to help clean out cages. My grandmother, whose name was Gurtie Hall was taking the money at the entrance. I don't remember much about the zoo, but I think there was a fenced off area which held rabbits, so you could step over the fence to pet them.
Just up the road from the cottage I used to go to a bakery which was in someone's garden at the back. The bread was delicious and still warm. The cottage itself had no toilet, only a bucket out back. It did have a door on, but Uncle Steve had to dig a big trench to empty the bucket. We had no bathroom and used to have a wash down in front of the fire. We had a very large garden with a delicious apple tree, and lots of chickens. Love to see what it's like now.