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Frant
Frant maps
Historic maps of Frant and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Frant maps
Frant area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Frant and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Frant
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Kent memories
Happiness
My grandparents lived in one of the two cottages at the entrance to Eridge Castle, where grandad was the butler. I was so happy there. Granny would take me to see Mr and Mrs Ward who were the head gardener and his wife. Their daughter Ann would take me for walks and was always so much fun to be with. Walking through the woods and down to the lake was a great treat, and how I loved all the wonderful sights there were of wild life and flowers. I remember the smell of the azaleas and rhododendrons, the lodges with the blaze of colour in spring. There was always an air of mystery for me. My Uncle David would take us up to Eridge Rocks for picnics and we would all pick blackberries, and Granny would spend hours making jams and pies for us. Grandad was a verger at the very beautiful Eridge church and so every Sunday Granny and I would walk down the drive to go to the... Read more
Travels With My Aunt
I stayed with my Great Aunt Evelyn Cramer Roberts in one half the "Cottages" (16C left hand side of the road going towards the station) during parts of my childhood and growing years between 1934 and 1956. In my childhood there was the village shop and post office which always smelt deliciously of the groceries sold there. I can remember helping her maid, Emma, clean the oil lamps when I was very young. My aunt knew everyone in the village as she had lived there for many years. We would deliver the parish paper to many of the villagers and we would stay for a while to gather the village news. She was always close to nature and her garden was a wonderful place to play and later to learn about plants and care of them, which lives with me today. It was and I hope still is, a classic cottage garden with ancient yew hedge and herbaceous border and vegetable garden. She would often take me on long... Read more
Miss Frances Funge
Miss Funge was my great aunt. I stayed with her and her friend Miss Nellie Payne, as a child, in summer holidays. She lived in School House, Cousley Wood. She taught in the school for 50 years, starting at the age of 16. She also played the organ at the Cousley Wood Church from when she was 18. I spent a lot of time at the farm next door, run by Mr Hobbs, where I learnt to milk a cow! Very many happy days were spent there. Aunty France (as I called her) was firm but very, very kind. In School House there was no gas or electricity, just one inside cold tap, and also an outside toilet. Cooking was done on a paraffin stove from which was produced wonderful meals, cakes and biscuits. Oil lamps and candles were used, and lovely open fires. My father (her nephew) tried to persuade her to have electricity installed, to no avail. She preferred life as it was.
There was a sweet... Read more
Annie Charlotte Funge
Ever since I was a young boy I had an interest in knowing where my grandmother was born. She was born 1883, the youngest daughter of James William Funge and Annie Hayward.
Sadly she passed away in Christchurch, NZ in 1963, reaching there as a war bride in 1918 after marrying my grandfather Percy Gourdie, at Wadhurst Parish church 27 April 1918.
In 1966 I started working as a shipping clerk and my goal was to travel to England and visit Cousley Wood and see my Great Aunt Frances Funge whom I had heard so much about.
In 1968 we learnt from her nephew Raymond Ralph she had died after illness. In August 1968 I left NZ arriving Heathrow 1 September. Towards end of September my first visit to Cousley Wood took place with the help of my 2nd cousin Raymond and we motored down to Sussex on the A21. We first visited the Wadhurst Parish Church and I saw the resting place of Aunt Frances and... Read more
People at Scrag Oak
I remember working at weekends and school holidays at Scrag Oak. I was still at school and worked there for about two years. The house and farm was owned by Mr George Edward-Jones (the spelling may be wrong). The one full time employee was Bill Bull. Bill and I built several pigsties that were still in existence the last time that I visited there. I remember working in the winter of 1962-1963. I used to travel to the farm on some old skis and was one of the few people that could make it through the huge snowdrifts. I can clearly recall the difficulty of providing fresh water for the pigs, chickens and bullocks that we kept there. One day we attached a brand new hose to a tap and turned the water on; the water froze solid before it reached the end of the hose pipe. I forget the exact temperatures reached, but the max/min thermometer reached negative figures on several occasions. You may not think that this was... Read more
Whincroft
Is there anyone out there who remembers Whincroft School, or who was there c 1954 to 1961? I'd love to hear from them.
Happy School Days - I Was Anne Green!
Rosemary and Antoinette (were you Toni?) picked up my earlier, not very helpful, query since I used my married name and Barbara which was'nt ever used at school! What about Sandy Heathcote, and Mhari Bruce? And Hilary and Jane? It would be fun to hear from anyone. Barbara
