![francisfrith.com - nostalgic photos, maps, books and memories [US]](/images/pageloader/headerLogo_us.gif "francisfrith.com - nostalgic photos, maps, books and memories [US]")
Ightham, the Square c1950
Ightham, the Square c1950 Ref: i4005
Memories of Ightham, the Square
Be the first to add a memory of Ightham, the Square
Ightham & local memories
Read and share memories of Ightham and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Ightham, Village 1901
Ref: 47624
I have an old postcard of this same image!
Hello.
I have just found an old postcard of this image! It belonged to my late great aunt's husband. I'd love to hear your stories if you lived in this village around this time or have a relative who did!
Shared on 01 May 2009
Ightham, the Square c1960
Ref: I4045
Interesting to see this picture though I don't think that by the 1960s Ightham was ever this free of traffic except early in the morning.
The building in the centre of the picture was a petrol station and provider of all sorts of bits and pieces. Was it run by Mr Arthur? My father would drive down there (with me in tow) to find whatever he needed to keep the lawnmower and other garden equipment going as well as getting a can of two stroke fuel. Possibly our mini is in the picture (but not if this was taken early in the morning).
Mrs Cox ran the newsagents, just out of picture to the left and there was still a butcher, and a general store in the village. And of course two pubs. I think only the two pubs survive today.
Shared on 29 February 2008
This memory is not mine, but that of my mother in law, Beatrice, nee Head. She grew up in the Girls Training Home in Boxley Road Maidstone until she was 14 when she had to go 'into service'. One of her first jobs was as a housemaid at Ightham Mote where she also looked after the two little boys belonging to the family. Unfortunately she no longer remembers the family name but says they were very kind. She remembers that the house was 'very big' and that she had to cross a wooden bridge to get to the house. I wonder if anyone else remembers working there in the early 1930s, or if anyone can remember the name of the family.
Shared on 05 February 2008
This view was seen by me every day that I went to school at Judd School in Tonbridge. I caught the bus here. There were two bus routes through the village - Number 9 which ran from Maidstone to Sevenoaks and operated by Maidstone & District - and the number 122 which was operated by Southdown and ran from Gravesend to Brighton. Both buses arrived in the village on the hour. I lived at Cobtree Cottage at the top of the village next to the Village Hall and the builders yard of F & G King who were related to me. I was in the church choir for many years and joined the RAF in 1951 following in the footsteps of my brother who was a pilot but was unfortunately killed in Malaya in 1952 and his name appears on the rear side of the memorial. A very happy childhood spent in this beautiful village. I now live in Canada and sincerely hope that the village will not change too much with the passing of time.
Shared on 15 September 2006
Ivy Hatch, the House 1901
Ref: 47619
These are the memories of my mother May born Ivy Hatch 1921.
The photo shows the gardens and rear elevation of Ivy Hatch Court. The house was owned by Colonel C.N.Watney and his wife Winifred from at least 1919 until approx 1945 when it was sold and converted into apartments/flats. There was a daughter Miss Patricia Watney and a son, name unknown.
Mrs Watney was a keen hunt supporter and rode to hounds with the West Kent Foxhounds
Colonel Watney is understood to have been a patron of St.Bartholomews Hospital, London
Household staff during the 1920s and '30s included:
Mr. Taylor - Butler
Mr Saunders - Chauffeur
Mr Ernie Cox - Head gardener (lived at The Lodge with wife and 2 children, Phillip and Doreen)
Mr Cunningham - 2nd gardener who lived with family at Crown House
Mr Horace Palmer - 3rd gardener who lived with wife and 5 children at Crown House
Mr William (Bill) Jenkins - Groom
My maternal grandfather Horace James Palmer, served with Colonel Watney in India (now Pakistan) with the Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) during WW1.
Horace died in October 1937 on his way to work at Ivy Hatch Court.
John Gabbitass
Shared on 18 April 2008
