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Lower Stoke
Lower Stoke maps
Historic maps of Lower Stoke and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Lower Stoke maps
Lower Stoke area books
Displaying 1 of 23 books about Lower Stoke and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Lower Stoke
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Lower Stoke.
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or of a photo of Lower Stoke.
Stanley Fritter
My name is Stanley Fritter and I was born in 1943 at 'Cuckolds Green', during an air raid, so my mother told me, but we lived at 3 Brook Row. My best and longest friend is Val Mudge, who lived next door, as youngsters we were always together, so much so that we became more like siblings. At the end of the row lived Ron 'Butcha' Mortley who was also a good friend. We used to play cricket with our fathers. Val was very good and could bowl a mean ball. You could play in the road in those days as there were very few cars. Games of hide and seek were very popular. We would go up to the gardening plots and smoke a cigarette or two and make ourselves feel sick, but we carried on and got used to it. We had pet cats, you had to because of the mice that were all over the place. I well remember the summer evenings when the women would stand... Read more
Brook Row And Beyond
I was born in 1941. We lived at 4 Brook Row (where the public toilets are now). My family Arthur and Alice Mudge and myself Valerie Mudge.
During the war, my dad, well known as Doll...was the village policeman.
I was best friends with Stanley Fritter, who lived at 3 Brook Row with his family, his dad Arthur also known as Sweat and his mum Beattie. He has 2 sisters, Sheila and Pam.
My Auntie Grace and Uncle Horace Craddock lived at 5 Brook Row, and Auntie Alice and Uncle Snow lived at 2 Brook Row.
We had no toilets or running water, we had to collect our water from a tank at the end of the Row, and the nearest toilets were about 100 yards up the lane.
Stan and I used to play in the ditch, in the front of Brook Row, and on summer evenings we used to wait by the local shop (Hobarts?)for the boatmen to arrive from Grain because they gave us money and... Read more
Kent memories
Notes From Medway's Hoo Peninsula
My family came from Stoke, on the Hoo Peninsula, and I am keen to hear from other people about their heritage as well. I have a blog and am looking to compile stories and photographs!
http://hoo-peninsula.blogspot.com/
Best wishes,
Tony Watson.
A Seaside Holiday at Allhallows
My earliest memories of the seaside are from the 1950's. We lived in Bexleyheath and - like most people - did not own a car in those far off austerity years after the war. For this reason our summer holidays were always on the nearby north Kent coast and we would travel by train!
Our trip to Allhallows was eagerly awaited - we packed our cases and sent them on ahead. As the big day arrived we took the train from Bexleyheath, changed trains at Chatham and then arrived at Allhallows where an old fashioned taxi took us to our rented bungalow near the seafront. I remember bathing huts, a shingly beach and fine weather for two weeks - a paradise for an eight-year old ! I have a collection of black and white snaps taken on this holiday to jog my happy memory!
Lazy Days at Allhallows
I have pics of me and my family camping in a bell tent at Allhallows. We then bought a caravan which I thought was fabulous, there wa my mum and dad, us kids, Dot, Carol, Charlie and me, Jenny, and a baby sister cam along in 1961. Our surname was Fox.
We all used to go out in the mud and there was a big white thing like a horse's water trough to wash our feet in. We would always go down the arcade and into the cafe that was attached. I had a job clearing the tables in that cafe, which had a juke box playing 'Let's Twist Again'. We used to spend all the holidays down there. We all used to go up to the fort which was brilliant.
We also used to go over the club house wich had a group. I can also remember that outside the clubhouse they did build a swimming pool but it was ice cold and only lasted a short while.
Born And Bred - Allhallows - on - Sea
I was born and bred in Allhallows-on-sea , as a child it was a very safe haven and full of wonderful adventures. Tree camps and corn fields.....the Beach and the marshes , that seemed to stretch on forever. Growing up in the village was a great experience and I have some great memories...
Even now I have moved ....everytime I go to Allhallows I feel like I have come home! it has a beautiful way of saying Hello to the people that love it....
Happy Camping Days
We had many happy weeks down at the Allhallows campsite. I lived in Gravesend and we travelled by steam train to Allhallows. Also for a day out we would cycle as well, a long way but we were young. We met a lot of nice people from all over Kent & London. I had a lady friend who lived in Allhallows and may still live there. Her name was Susan and she lived at 14 Queensway. A lot of time has passed since then. I have just come back from a weekend in Allhallows and I am amazed at the change. No more fairground, although the cafe building is still there, but it is a store now. We shall return again for a pint in the British Pilot, that is one place that has not changed.
David Hills, West Sussex
