You are here:
Kenton
Kenton maps
Historic maps of Kenton and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kenton maps
Kenton area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Kenton and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kenton
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Kenton.
Add your memory of Kenton
or of a photo of Kenton.
Blue Gems Chinese Restaurant
I remember many enjoyable Friday evenings at 'The Plough' on the corner of Gooseacre Lane (usually with too much beer!) and the following visits to the 'Blue Gems' in Kenton Road for some Chinese food at pub closing time. The restaurant was renamed as 'Chu-Chin-Chow' around 1963/4. There was a waiter there who bore a striking resemblance to a wrestler called Leon Fortuna who appeared on TV when Kent Walton used to host the wrestling programme, so we naturally named him 'Leon'. Hard to believe that it's so many years ago.
My Apprentice Days With Northmet Electricity (EEB)
I was born in Elmgrove Crescent Harrow in 1933 and lived in Pinner Road North Harrow, moving to Wealdstone in 1934. I started at Bridge Scool in 1938 and followed on to Belmont Sec. Modern School until leaving in August 1948 and started training as an electrician with Northmet Electricity at 4 College Road Harrow.
I was attached to the Kenton branch showrooms and depot in Kenton Road, the front of the showroom is visible in the Bottom Right of Frith Picture ref:K151009.
There was a rear access along the back of these premises to our workshops and stores, we used bicycles to cover our work area between Edgware in the East, down to South Harrow in the West, and to Bushey in the North.
Along the access road was Reg's Cafe where we took our early tea break before setting out to our jobs for the day.
Happy Memories.
Brian Grainge. now aged 77 retired in Suffolk.
Kenton; 1950's.
From 1952-1963 my family lived on Kenton Rd. in a house backing onto the Kenton Tennis Club (now Rufford Close). I was five in 1956. Memories of sunny Sunday afternoons in the back garden with the soundtrack of good-natured tennis matches; memories of the mid-1950's snows with JH Brazier milk-floats and the rag-and-bone cart struggling through. (Horse manure was collected on Kenton Road by eager gardeners when I was a pre-schooler!) I attended Priestmead Primary 1956-62; what a lovely school. Dear Mr Heslop Head-teacher and fierce Mr Rawlings (but kindly underneath). Then Downer Grammar - for me, not so benign. A choirboy (1957-60) at St Johns Greenhill - Mr Spire, the old-school choirmaster (a florin for singing at weddings!) The old 230, 140 and 183 RT buses (don't jump off 'til the bus stops m'lad!); running through the passage under the tracks at Northwick Park to play on the golf course before the hospital was built; buying Players Weights for my older brothers at the Broadway sweet shop... Read more
Middlesex memories
Dear Dear Old Kingsbury
Oh so many memories! Where does one start? Looking at this photo I remember the milk dispensing machine outside the Express Dairy shop. I think it was 6d you'd put in, and after a lot of rumbling, out would come a small 'bottle' of ice cold milk (glass too!). Of course we all remember Saturday morning pictures at the Gaumont, where us boys would try to sit next to our favourite female; after being let in through the back door!
I remember well the Welsh Harp rubbish dump, where most of us (having no money) would go to get bits to build a bike. If you were lucky you'd build one with 'cowhorn' handlebars and race it around the cinder track in West Hendon Park, near the old (now gone) swimming pool. The Welsh Harp, yes, how many of us nearly drowned on the rafts that we'd make to 'sail the seven seas?' The Welsh Harp seemed like the seven seas to us little folk then. What a wonderful place... Read more
Swimming Lessons
The pool was a lovely place to be on a hot summer day, but not so good in cold weather. I attended Kingsbury County Grammar School nearby, and we had our swimming lessons at the pool. It wasn't easy plucking up courage to jump in on a freezing cold April morning, despite the voice of our PE mistress (fully clothed in warm tracksuit) telling us that it wasn't that cold once we were in the water. The school were strict about uniform, and we were expected to wear one-piece swimsuits, but they forgot to specify colour. My minor rebellion was to wear a bright pink cozzie, which went well with blue skin! My mother remembers the pool for less pleasant reasons - she was about 8, and a non-swimmer, when she was thrown in the deep end and nearly drowned (1939?). She didn't learn to swim for another 35 years.
Kingsbury Pool And Area
Hello. I lived in Kingsbury from 1943 until 1962 when I moved to Canada.
I lived off Old Church Lane. We walked to the pool with our sixpence and had to stand in line for what seemed hours - as they only would allow a certain number of people in the pool area. We had to wait until someone came out, before someone could go in. Were all PE teachers the same? She would also stand warmly dressed and practically force us to jump into the frigid water!!
I went to Fryent Infants School; Tylers Croft and then on to Kilburn Poly.
I worked at Smiths in Wembley Park and was thrilled to also see photos of that area in this site...... thanks for the memories!!!
The Good Old Days
My memories are of walking to Kingsbury Sec school opposite Colindale Lane then we were transfered to the new Tylers Croft, Bacon Lane. The memories of playing football and cricket at Silver Jubilee Park, Townsend Lane where I first lived from 1947 to 1958. Then I enlisted into the army for 12 years. On returning from Kenya my parents had moved to Mead Court, Buck Lane, Kingsbury Green. I married in 1966, lived in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Surrey and now in Somerset. Anyone who has memories of the same at the same time I would be glad to hear from you.
Ray Filler
