Rye, West Street 1888

Carole's memories.

I was born in the house that lays back just out of view in this photo. The house was built in 1954 and our family were the only people to live there up until my father's death in 2008. I was born in the house, as were both my sisters. At that time the house was a tied cottage to the farm called Sharvels that was at the bottom of Cock Hill. In later years the farm was sold to Crown Properties and then later still the property was taken on by the local housing authority. There was a butcher shop to the left and another two doors up to the right that also had a dairy. A couple of doors down was the post office. There were five other shops in the village, Anthonys stores and Hales stores at the bottom, Jempsons and another at the top end which we called the Top shop but I cannot remember another name. There was also Farleys Garage. Only Jempsons still exist. Anthonys always had the best sweet selection and we would stop there on the way home from the local school for sherbert fountains and black jacks. We would also stop and watch the blacksmith shoeing horses and making things from wrought iron. It was always a good place to stop on a freezing winter's day. The park behind the vicarage was excellent for sledging and the snow would build up at the top and make giant snow drifts to jump in. On Accension Day the whole school would walk to church in our Sunday best for the service and we would be given a momento of the day. If it was dry enough we would walk across the fields and down through the blue bell wood. Harvest Festival would be celebrated the same and we would deliver baskets of food around the village. At Christmas was the Carol Service in the church and the school play in the Village Hall. We would spend weeks making things and everybody in the school had a part to play. We often went on nature walks around the village and we would catch tadpoles and learn about the different birds. The Primary School left lasting happy memories.

Bottle Alley

Does anyone else have any memories of 'Bottle Alley'? I think it was on the Promenade and it was a covered walk (built in Victorian times, I believe) of concrete encrusted with bottles, mainly the bottoms, in all sorts of patterns.  Some of my family lived in Ore and I used to visit as a child. My other lasting memory is of the beach with the old fishmarket and 'the old man in the tub'.  He was something of an eccentric (must have been!) who used to paddle along the front of the Esplanade in a tub or barrel.