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Kingswood
Kingswood maps
Historic maps of Kingswood and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kingswood maps
Kingswood area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Kingswood and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kingswood
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Kingswood.
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Garden Farm, Waterhouse Lane
We lived at Garden Farm, Waterhouse Lane, Kingswood, these are some of my memories. I went from there to Tadworth School, also myself and family used to walk from there most Sundays along different paths to Reigate and have an ice cream, and had no money for the bus fare home so we had to walk all that way back again, but was good fun. Also we would often walk to Main Road and see a Greenline bus coming, so we would hop on, and end up in London, again with not much money, and we would sit on the steps of Eros with peanuts, and more often than not get the last bus home. We also would walk over to Epsom downs after the races and find money that people had lost after a day at the races, they were good innocent days
Surrey memories
The Galleon Swimming Pool
The Galleon swimming pool was all blue with a marvellous fountain at the far, shallow end. Above to the left was a sun balcony and a little counter where you could buy soft drinks and sweets. There was a wavey slide on the left side middle and a spring board at the deep end. Everywhere was painted summer blue. Oh the fun we had as kids and the place was always crowded on sunny days. I still have a photo of me in one of those dreadful rouched swim costumes which were fashionable after the war, sitting on the edge of the pool.
Dancing Round The Maypole
I can remember dancing round the maypole by the conker trees just down from the pond on May 1st with the Burgh Heath Methodist School, Head teacher Miss Mary Fletcher - and buying sherbert in the little shop nearby which was weighed out on an old set of scales - sherbert and humbugs kept in little glass jars on the shelf - can't remeber the name of the lady that owned the shop but knew her daughter Mrs Freida Day - anyone else remember any of this or what this lady's name was? Also remember hearing stories of the horse and cart that went down the well in the pond - wonder whether that was true -Miss Marshall who lived by the pond (school secretary) told us this story - gosh so many memories flooding back :)
Memory of The Galleon
I remember gooing swimming and getting my elbow stuck in the bar that went round the edge of the pool
Swimming Lessons
I remember swimming lessons at the Galleon, laying in a 'cradle' that was held by a long pole that the teacher let go of when she thought you wouldn't sink !!! I also remember how freezing cold the water was, the fountain at the end of the pool that we used to play in, AND I remember my sister Frances getting her elbow stuck in the side of the pool !
Methodist School
I was at Burgh Heath Methodist School from about 1953 to 1956. My mother was Mrs Coleman, who taught reception. Mrs Parrot was headmistress, Mrs Westwater taught the second class. Miss Marshall was at that time the milk lady and lived with her mother in a little cottage at the end of a cobbled path, opposite the school, by the pond. They had gas lighting downstairs and a candle was used upstairs. They had a garden that went down to the pond and always flooded in the winter. My father was a photographer in his spare time and took photos of the years that I was there, which I still have. We lived at Belmont and my mum cycled along the Brighton Road to school every day, with me on the back! We had nature walks around the pond and I remember being warned of the dangers of thin ice in the winter, as a boy, Alan someone I think, drowned when he fell through the ice a few winters previously. Miss Fletcher took... Read more
The Galleon
I also have fond memories of The Galleon. Mum and I sometimes went there after school, and sometimes we went to The Sugar Bowl.
