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Seal
Seal maps
Historic maps of Seal and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Seal maps
Seal area books
Displaying 1 of 23 books about Seal and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Seal
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Seal.
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or of a photo of Seal.
The Cottages on The Side Known as St Athreda
I used to be in Oakbank School and my uncle lived in Seal. His cottage is on the right hand side of this photo.
Oak Bank Open Air School
I too went to Oak Bank Open Air School and remember Miss Bremner well - she seemed to be particularly kind to me, but maybe she was to all the charges in her care! I remember in particular the camp beds put out on warm days on which we had to rest for an hour. Also, on birthdays we could choose who we wanted to sit with and were given a birthday cake. Not all memories are good. I was given an Easter egg by a girl called Hazel, and one of the staff decided I had stolen it (she had bowlegs, although I don't remember her name), and shut me in a broom cupboard for the evening - not very nice.
Oak Bank School, Kent
Reading someone else's comment about Oak Bank School I am fascinated by their memory. I went to what I only remember as an Open Air School in Seal when I was very young. Don't know what for but think I was a sickly child and this was for my health. I remember vividly the beautiful countryside and the school (where we actually lived) in beautiful woodland surroundings and there were wonderful walks in the woodland around the area. Could this be Oak Bank School and if so what was its purpose and who ran it? Would love to know more about it as my memories are really vivid in my mind.
Oak Bank Open Air School
I was sent to Oak Bank school as a seven year old and stayed for about two years. The Matron was a lovely lady called Miss Bremner, and I remember I stayed in a dorm called Oak, all the dormitories were named after trees. I have never forgotten the beautiful Kent countryside and the wonderful interior of the house, I wonder if anyone else who was at the school has such good memories.
During WWII
I lived on Seal High Street (pretty well opposite the half timbered building & the horse trough in the photograph) from 1939 to 1951. My father was in the fire brigade. In those days you auditioned to become a choirboy. The Church music was very elaborate & mostly we enjoyed it - although we were discreetly naughty, especially during the vicar's deadly boring sermons. Wide knicker elastic & tiny black throat sweets provided excellent catapault material. We got paid - about 3/6 (17p) I week I think although most of got lost in 'fines'. Society weddings were very lucrative. Seal was a feudal kind of place with very wealthy people in big houses served by the 'village'.
Although the battle of Britain raged overhead nothing much got hit until the V1 (Doodlebug) & V2 rocket came along. The biggest danger was stray bullets from the fighting & an occasional strafing of the road.
There was very little petrol - even for the rich - and we... Read more
Kent memories
Family Connections.
One of my brothers worked at the fish shop 'Packman's' next to the greengrocers and the lady with the pushchair and small child is my sister-in-law and her children.
Bat And Ball Railway Station Near Sevenoaks
My wife, Elizabeth, and I bought a house in Sevenoaks when we married in 1971 and had nearly five happy years living just to the north of the town, close to Bradbourne Park lakes before business forced us to move away. I remember my daily commute by train to work at the Bank of England in the City and having experienced awful crowded and late trains from Sevenoaks station, I decided to travel on the other line from the Bat and Ball station not far from the cricket ground! This took me to Blackfriars or Holborn Viaduct stations in London and the journey was a lot more comfortable. Elizabeth had an easier journey to work as she started a new job with the planning department of Sevenoaks council. We enjoyed our time in Sevenoaks and I well remember the cricket on "The Vine" which I always associated with my commuting from Bat and Ball station!
