Five Ashes memories
Here are memories of Five Ashes and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Five Ashes or a Five Ashes photo.
Stonehurst Five Ashes
We lived at Stone Cottage, and then Stonehurst on the road between Five Ashes and Jarvis Brook for 7 years whilst I was a child. Wonderful freedom absorbing the Wealden countryside. We used the grocers shop, run by Mr Gagen, in Five Ashes. Rationioning was almost over by then. Also the pub a little bit - I do remember the 5 Ashes. The village bobby had a house on the edge of the village on the way to Cross in Hand I think. Most winters it seemed to snow a good deal and Mum had to put chains on the car to get us to school and Dad to the station.
Alice Eastwood Nee Colthup
My great aunt Alice was a teacher at Five Ashes village school in the early years of the 20th century. She was born in New Brompton, Kent on 29.8.1879 and died 23.12.1966 and is buried in the village. She married Fred Eastwood on 4.8.1903.
Sam Hocking was the headmaster; he came from Camborne in Cornwall. If anyone still living in the village remembers Alice, or who knows of her grave, I would love to hear from them.
Memories of East Sussex
Shopping With my Mum in Heathfield...
I remember in the 1960s going to Heathfield with Mum on the bus (we lived at Corner Farm, Swife Lane). We would go shopping and often would go into the Bluebird. Seeing that name in this picture brought all those memories back. I remember once saving up for a blue linen dress from a shop at one end of Heathfield High Street, but I'm unable to remember the name of the shop. I saved for weeks and weeks. It cost me 5 pounds back then! We would buy cream cakes from the bakery to take home to Dad and my brother and sisters. I remember Caffyns at the end of the road. I remember going to the Youth Club on Friday nights. Although it wasn't in Heathfield, I also remember going to the Young Farmers Club in Burwash. I was not that keen on going if I remember. I do however remember one of the members called Richard Lambert-Gorwyn. I think he lived on the same lane as our family.... Read more
The Crown Pub
I wonder if anyone else remembers the Crown pub, which had a television so I used to watch the showjumping while the grown-ups had a drink. The landland was a large jolly man. The garden was very well tended with lots of dahlias, I think.
Heathfield And Punnetts Town
My first memory of Heathfield was when I was about 2 and a half and my mother taking me to the pictures there. I cannot remember the film but I can remember a lady sitting near us giving me a bar of chocolate, I guess I was being a fidget. I also used to go to Erreys furniture store and printers which was owned by my great uncle and aunt and when they passed on Tommy Sands used to run it. My uncle and aunt used to run a market garden opposite Donkey Row, I think it was called Jack and Nellie Kenward. My first school was in Punnetts Town and I lived in the mill cottage up North Street. I left there in 1941. We are hoping to go back there shortly to look into the history of the Errey family. I was known as Jean Thorpe in those days.
Blackboys Post Office
This was the year that I and my family moved into the Post Office where we lived for the next 9 years. During this time I saw lots of changes to the buildings accross the Framfield Road. My father changed the inside of the Post Office. The old wooden counters were removed and replaced with open shelving and self service shopping.
There was a sorting room inside the Post Office which was busy each morning as the post and parcels were sorted into different rounds for Nora who delivered everything on her red bike, except at Christmastime because of the amount of parcels and post. This was deliverd by car with lots of help.
The Post Office is no longer there and the trees have all been cut down but the photos that were taken of the people and the place are still with me today and bring back the happy times we all had.
I Was There.
John your memories of Blackboys Post Office bring back cherished memories of my own. I was fortunate to have lived in Brownings Cottages opposite the PO and at the age of ten I helped ?? to remove the counters and walls one Saturday afternoon, with yourself, your father and Mr Berry, who referred to me as FOREMAN.
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