Padnell Avenue Etc.
A Memory of Cowplain.
We were the first family to move into the newly built Padnell Avenue Council Estate, moving there in around 1947, our house was one of a pair on the corner of Winscombe Avenue. Where the Council flats are now situated was prefabs and I can name most of the occupants who lived there at that time. I lived there until I married my wife Maureen at St Wilfred's Church, Padnell Road in 1971. I have many fond memories of the entire area and I'm sure people of Cowplain will share my memories of Padnell Recreation Ground, 'The Swamps' - 'The Humps & Bumps' - going to the 'Bob-Bon' at the top of Padnell for sweets - 'Joey's Field' - the 'Lily Pond' the 'Boat Pond' - the 'Tanks' in the Queens Enclosure and then there was the 'Farm Pond' at Padnell Farm where we would spend hours fishing for 'Sticklebacks'. There was Bert Steer's Transport Cafe at the top of Latchmore Forest Grove and the Cowplain Boys Club up towards Lovedean Corner. And then there was the Golf Course - we would spend hours causing havoc with the Golfers, we would also spend hours wading 'bare foot' in the Golf Course Pond feeling for lost balls that we would then attempt to sell back to the players.
I had childhood friends like Geoff Madgewick, who lived in a bungalow next door but one, George Verrier, Robert Pounds, Richard Silvester and Junior Knight. I went to Cowplain Infant School in Silvester Road and played for the School team - names I can remember are: Paul Tweed, Tom Dyson, Jimmy Morrow, Bob Sullivan, Dave & Johnny Kill, Mick Wallace and David Grant, I know there are many more and most of us went on to play the Boys Club mentioned, I apologise to those I have missed.
There was 'Fodens Garage' at the top of Park Lane, the Hardware shop, Coxons Newsagents where my sister Shirley worked for a short while, the Post Office in Kings Road, Gauntlets the Grocer next to that the Milk Depot run by Mr Watford who would deliver his milk by horse & cart, I would sometimes help him on his round. The Mission at the end of Mission Lane (my Dad was born in Mission Lane around 1912), Les Simpson the Barber, Patterson's the Greengrocer, Chapman's Laundry, Hood the Cobbler, Carters Sweet shop and at the end of Durley Avenue - Tumblers who sold TV's, records and push bikes. Prior to it being Tumblers I can remember it being Kimble's Tea Shop.
Sadly I can also remember the demolition for house building of: The Hazleton Woods, Weacock Farm, Cherry Tree Estate in Park Lane, Park Lane - now Tempest Avenue, Highfield Farm Estate and the A3(M) Motorway that ploughed its way right through the idyllic countryside that was our playground as Kids.
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I've only just seen your comment and can't help wondering if your mother and grandmother popped into my son's little cafe which only ran for about ten months in 2001-2
When i was four or five we moved to Greenfield crescent and the woods were at the bottom of our garden and there were crab apples growing and an oak tree in our garden that we used to pretend we were showjumping round. we played football and cricket in the street till 8/9 oclock at night, there was a lot less traffic then. we used to have challenges to see who could run round the block the most times.There was three ways to get to school at Padnell road and i was there till 71.i seem to remember being taught in prefabs by the playground.we played softball and a game called british bulldog where we had to run from one end of the playground to the other. My dad used 7 or 8 of us into the back of an hillman hunter and take us swimming at dryad. i was in the sea cadets and remember a weeked camp out near mercury. it was a different ere, a time of innocence and i don,t remember being indoors much till i was a teenager. i had two good in gregory and stephen tutt and i spent a lot of time at Springvale road with them. There was a pub with a big car park, i think it was the crows nest and 5 shops on hazleton way, a hardware shop that seemed to sell everything,a paper shop which closed half day on a wednesday and you could only buy certain things on a sunday, like you could buy a paper but not a pen. i think they were only building Cherry Tree Avenue and building sites seemed to be open then because i can remember the stacks of bricks