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Ifield memories

Here are memories of Ifield and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Ifield or a Ifield photo.

Strathmore

My parents bought Strathmore which was a large house with 4 1/2 acres of garden just opposite the village shop on the road to Charlwood. We lived there as a family until about 1965, Peter Butterworth was a neighbour. Both my sisters Anne & Carolyn were married in Ifield Church. Friends who also lived in the village were John Reynolds and George Dutton. The Laker family were our gardeners. Strathmore is now a development of 54 Georgian style houses.

Memories of West Sussex

My Parents Were Married Here

Parish Church 1903
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My mum and dad were married here and I was christened in this lovely old church. My parents were both from old Crawley families.

Gamekeeper

Tillgate Mansion 1907
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My great grandad worked as a gamekeeper on the Tilgate estate. He moved with his family from Suffolk to Crawley in the 1880s.
I have many happy memories of visiting my grandparents at Tilgate estate. They lived in the house next to the walled garden. I used to help pick the peaches and strawberries that my grandad grew. They were sent to London to be sold.
The estate was beautiful in those days. It is now a public park...

Wolseley Cars

The Fair, Upper Square 1905
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The car in the photograph is a Wolseley. I am the Secretary of the Wolseley Register and recognise the car. The interesting thing is that a similar car exists in Hertfordshire and that also has the wicker tubular basket on the rear of the car.

Tilgate Mansion Crawley West Sussex

Tillgate Mansion 1907
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This is the first time I have ever seen such a wonderful photo of Tilgate Mansion, other than bits of it in the backgound of faded family snaps. It means a lot to me because my father, Peter, spent part of his youth living there sometime in the late 1950s with his family (Tayman of the Crawley area) and when he was courting my mother, Elizabeth Robinson, they spent many happy hours walking around the estate and lake.

Dad regaled me with many tales of ghosts and I can see why! It is such a shame they tore this place down, it was magnificent - all I have ever seen were some steps when I visited the site and some old photo's long since lost...

Dad used to play by the lake and took me there when I was a little girl.
Thank you so much for posting this picture...Blessed be. Pixi in Australia.

Evacuees

Tillgate Mansion 1907
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As a small boy, my father-in-law Derek Munson was evacuated with his siblings to Crawley. They stayed at a farm house (which was later owned by Peter Butterworth - any further info on this would be much appreciated) but used to go to Tillgate Mansion for their baths once a week. He was very sad to hear that it had been demolished.

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