Clements Hall

A Memory of Hockley.

I must have been about six when I stayed at Clements Hall with my brothers Edwin and Terry in the 1950s. Christine story brought back memories. I also remember the geese, the matron often made me sit on the step to shell the peas. The geese would gather around pecking at me, I was very frightened of them as a small child. I too remember the tram, we spent hours playing in it and painting it in mud. I can remember a wooden gate not far from the tram that led into a lane that my brothers would climb over. I was unable to follow them I were too small.

The main hall had 2 or 3 steps that we used to sit on. I would help Sadie wind wool into huge balls then she would unwind it and start over again. There was an old record player on a table, I remember so vividly listening to Que Sera Sera whatever will be will be and how much is that doggy in the window - woof woof. At Easter there was a huge Easter egg donated to the home decorated with iced flowers. The chocolate must have been a good inch or more thick a hammer had to be used to break it open. Does anybody remember the lovely big rocking horse that I would play on for hours ?

We ate our meals at the big wooden tables with long benches either side, porridge for breakfast or bread and milk. I can remember the bathroom which had long bench with hooks above to hang our clothes. We would stand naked whilst we awaited our turn to be bathed, they would bath two or three of us at a time. The bedrooms were dormitories. I being a bed wetter often got the matron's wooden spoon across my buttocks for fouling the bed.

I can remember the privet hedge across the back lawn. My brothers and I would hide in the hedge or make a camp in the middle of it which was great fun. Any one remember the play house in the garden with the little kitchen where the girls would pretend to make dinner and cups of tea ? Oh what fun we had in that little kitchen serving up mud pies. We used to have great fun playing hide and seak in the wooden shutter boxes and on fire drill would have to climb out the window and slide to safety via a chute.

I cant remember going to school but I must have done so as I am sure I were of school age. We used to walk along the back lane to Sunday school and would be given a stamp on a card for attending. I believe the pretty little church was called St Mary the virgin. I wonder if anyone can remember the high wooden stool we were made to sit on to receive what was know as the pudding basin hair cut. They weren't such bad days when I look back but my brothers being older than I had much more fun.

The home still stands to this day as a grade ll listed building. It looks rather creepy now to say the least and rather over grown from what I have seen on google maps but I could still see remains of the geese huts, I hated those geese wretched things. I wonder if anybody out there remember's Jill or Gillian, Eddie or Edwin and Terry or Terence King from the mid 50s ?

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