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Four Ashes

Four Ashes maps

Historic maps of Four Ashes and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Four Ashes maps

Four Ashes area books

Displaying 1 of 7 books about Four Ashes and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Four Ashes

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Buckinghamshire memories

The Most Interesting Gents Barbers in The World

The Cross Roads c1960
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Probably just behind the photographer was an old fashioned mens barber shop. All the old men would go there for a haircut and mums would take their sons too. What the mums never knew is that when you sat in the alcove to have your hair washed there were numerous naughty pictures that could only be seen from in there. I wonder if any boy ever told his mum what he'd seen?

Shopping in Hazlemere in The Sixties

The Cross Roads c1960
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I was born in Curzon Avenue in 1953 and moved to Amersham Road in 1958. From a very early age my mother used to send me to the crossroads to do the shopping for her. Every Friday after school I used to go to Fords the grocers with my shopping list for the week, collect all the goods, pay for them and then walk back via the sweet shop to spend the 3d (that's about 1p) that my Mum gave me. Fords had a grey van which they used to deliver the goods to our house. Often the shopping arrived home before me! Fords was, in the Sixties, one of the earliest supermarkets and had various offers. My Dad won a mini in a Heinz soup competition in 1962 and the prize included a case of all 57 Heinz varieties which he gave to Ernie Ford to distribute to his customers. Hazlemere had good choice of shops at that time including the post office & newsagents, a record shop, a... Read more

Eastern Dene

The Cross Roads c1960
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Does anybody know anything about the history of Eastern Dene / Western Dene? I was told about the zoo that once stood on the site of the park primary/middle school, but I hear that a battle took place on Eastern/Western Dene. I lived in the Dene when I was a boy of 12 years old. My mate and I were digging a hole in the back garden, when we came across some bones. We thought that a dog may have buried them, only to discover what we think were in fact human bones. I also dug up a brass door knocker which I took to High Wycombe museum. It was photographed and recorded, and a plaster mould of its face was taken. The face resembled a cat's face and whiskers. I still have it somewhere! If anybody reading this can help me with this history on the battle I would be grateful as this has interested me since then.

More About Hazlemere Cross Roads

The Cross Roads c1960
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I lived in Rushmoor Avenue until I was 8 (1957-65 )and then in Eastern Dene (1965-1974).  When I was small, I used to accompany my mother on her shopping trips to Hazlemere crossroads (usually on foot). The chemists was called Seymour's.  I think there was an off-license next to Seymour's and then the furniture shop which also sold records.  Later on there was a chinese restaurant - near the Newsagents.  I also remember the "Singing Kettle" cafĂ© next to the garage (although I never went in).  I went to primary school in Tyler's Green and used to come home on the bus.  We had the same bus conductress for many years - her name was Nora.  When I was 13 or 14, I had a Saturday job in Maggie Mae's which was run by a very nice old lady called "Auntie".  In the afternoon, I used to take her dog for a walk and pick up a fresh cream Victoria sponge cake from Fords for our tea. There was a... Read more

High Wycombe, 1956 On.

I was born in the Shrubbery Nursing home in 1956. I grew up in Lane End, about 5 miles away. I have photos of me looking awful in baggy knickers on the Rye (the park in Wycombe town) as a toddler. There was a play area on the Rye that is still there, but in my day there was a little waterway for kids to play in, long since closed as deemed dangerous by present standards. My mother always used to enter the Wycombe show with home-made wine, handicrafts & cooking. I was made to enter the 'garden on a dinner plate'. In Lane End I also had to do the jam jar & paste jar flower displays, jam tarts and I think again garden on a dinner plate. I remember when I was young the river ran through the town, and our bus stop was near it at the start of the Oxford Road. I remember the awful Woolworths, long and thin turning back on itself, lots of dark... Read more

Vicky Mentions That Woolworths

Frogmore Square 1921
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I had a Saturday job in that Woolworths and at the end of the day one of my jobs was to oil that old and dingy wooden floor. I have two glden memories. One was being asked by Mr Ch***** (removed for legal reasons) to turn the boxes of loose biscuits around and date stamp them again a year hence. They had reached their Best Before date already. The second is working in the cage where the soft drinks were kept and being very thirsty on a hot day. I used to carefully remove the foil covered tops from Lucozade bottles and drink the top inch and then carefully replace the tops. I did this a number of times.

What Else Happened Here

There used to be a Saturday market on the left in that covered area and I used to buy a plate of cockles there and eat them with a cocktail stick. That's not very interesting though but I'll tell you something that is. When I was in my early twenties (late '70's) I met a guy, through work, called Charlie Winston who must have been 50 years old then so I am guessing he has moved on by now. He had a reputation for being a villian and, alledgedly, was a mate of the Crays. Anyway, he told me that he lost his virginity under the cornmarket. I don't know who with though, sorry.

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