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Navestock
Navestock maps
Historic maps of Navestock and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Navestock maps
Navestock area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Navestock and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Navestock
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Essex memories
Racing at Stapleford Tawney
I was born in Chingford prior to the Second World War. In the early 1950s I became an avid cyclist and participated in several massed start cycle races on Stapleford Tawney aerodrome. If I remember right there was a downhill stretch on the circuit unkind to flesh and machine being mostly gravel. I wonder if anyone else remembers. About that time I belonged to the Unity CC in Highgate. Also at that time a fast run from Chingford to Bishops Stortford and back along the Epping road several evenings a week proved good training for time trialers.
St Peter's C O fE Junior School
I started at St Peter's in South Weald at the age of four in 1955. This was in the old school which is no longer there. Our teacher was Mrs Fox and we were taught to write on slates. When we became proficient we were allowed to use thick black pencils on paper. I will always remember the carbolic soap in the sinks and the outside toilets with spiders and shiny Izal toilet paper. Mrs Waite's classroom next door had a big stove with railings round it. I lived in Brentwood and arrived at school courtesy of Mr Tiffin's taxi, later replaced by a Tiffin's coach as numbers rose. I think the Mivvi ice lolly was invented while I was a pupil at St Peter's and I can remember purchasing Mivvis and assorted sweets from Mr Pottle's post office in South Weald village. The conker tree was just outside the shop and there was great competition to get the best conkers. The new school was completed before I left and... Read more
St Peters About 1958
I went to St Peters in about 1958, my brother must have been there 2 years before me. I joined Mrs Fox's class in the old school and remember the chalk and slates. Mrs Rogerson was the head teacher and I moved on via Mrs Hurlestons class to Miss Christies class. We farmed in Navestock, and my mother, aunt , uncle and cousin lived in High House and all went to St Peter before me, my sister followed.
The caretaker was called Mr Harris and Pottles was a regular haunt. Col and Mrs Laurie hosted the local fete and gymkana. I sat next to Susan Bennet whose family farmed in South Weald.
My Boyhood Years
My Mum and Dad lived quite close to Common Stocks, and as a boy along with mates of mine namely Keith Mills and Len Shuttleworth we would often clown around and pretend we were prisoners that had there legs locked as we were young enough to place our feet through the round holes in the Stocks. The history of the Common Stocks goes back along way and everytime I am visiting there from my home here in Arizona, USA I think back to the days gone by, and when I close my eyes I can still remember those days back in the 1940s as if it were yesterday. Happy days back then too when everyone knew there neighbors and had no fears and everyone would greet you with a Hello, and men would touch there hat and say Good Morning and how are you. Those were the days and I wish that it could be like that again.
I Lived Here From 1951 to 1977
Petersfield, Hilldene and Whitchurch shops, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd woods starting in Dagnam Park Drive and heading towards Petersfield shops, the 66A bus, Dycorts School (an excellent school with Mr Tanner the head and a truly excellent teacher called Mr. Smith), Quarles School with a bully for a head but with a true gent as the deputy head, Mr Gerrard, the moat, the green lake, the perch pond, the lily pond, The Manor, the old house at the junction of the Colchester road and Gubbins / Gooshays, the adventure playground in St Neot's with Amy Crockford running it, the A&BC Chewing Gum factory, the Eastern Electricity Board canteen where my dear mum worked, the White lady (ghost!), the mud hill, the death track, Central Park, the toy shop, sweet shop, shoe shop, Fairways (Roy), Pearks, the fish shop, the hardware shop, the cafe, all at Petersfield shops, the tennis courts at the manor, a Mr Hill? who hanged himself at the manor (sorry about that!), the Jungle Jim (Gym)... Read more
I Lived on Harold Hill From 1953 to 1967
I lived in Sedgefield Crescent, opposite Dycorts School main entrance; I had Mr Smith as a teacher; across the road from our house lived the man who hung himself! We used to make camps on the island, crossing the moat on the log; we fished for sticklebacks in the green lake, we virtually lived in The Manor, particularly around a massive log near the Harrowfield Girls School (my school) entrance. I remember the concrete pond and the beautiful lilac growing all over the walls. I met my husband 'over the manor' in 1963 and we married in 1967, he has his own adventures of 'the manor' to relate. I remember Wally's van parked outside the school when we came out, and I used to buy Palm Toffee, either strawberry or banana, it didn't matter as I loved them both :) I remember walking to Petersfield Shops on Good Fridays to buy hot cross buns at the bakers, which was the only shop that would open... Read more
BBC Documentary About Harold Hill
The BBC is looking at the day that Margaret Thatcher introduced the 'Right to Buy' scheme, allowing people in council houses to buy their own homes.
The film will look at the benefits for several million people who became homeowners, and the difficulty for councils in replacing the stock of social housing.
We have BBC footage of the time when Margaret Thatcher visited Harold Hill when the scheme started.
We're trying to track down people from Harold Hill who bought their council home using the scheme in the 80s and find out how it affected their life.
If this applies to you, please could you tell us a bit about your experiences?
Or if you know anyone else who bought a house in Harold Hill in the 80s, please do let us know.
Below is our e-mail and telephone number.
Thank you for reading.
E-mail: real@reallife.co.uk
Tel: 0113 237 1005
