The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here: Home > Explore your past > England > Kent > Elvington
Massive Book Clearance - 50-70% off every Book online!

Elvington

Elvington photos (2 available)

Old photo of Elvington

Elvington maps (2 available)

Old map of Elvington

Elvington books (17 available)

Elvington memories

The Pantomime at the Welfare Hall

My mum was called Jill Drake and my dad was Bob Drake and he worked down the pit.  We lived in St Johns Road and I remember that I was about 7 when the Elvington Players was first launched.  The Pantomime was Mother Goose and somewhere I have a photo of it which I will try and find it. It was a great hit and I think most families in Elvington had a part. I remember that Pearl and Alf Tridini were in it and the costumes were great.  All singing, all dancing.
Contributed by Frankie Hilary

Kent memories

The Pantomime at the Welfare Hall

My mum was called Jill Drake and my dad was Bob Drake and he worked down the pit.  We lived in St Johns Road and I remember that I was about 7 when the Elvington Players was first launched.  The Pantomime was Mother Goose and somewhere I have a photo of it which I will try and find it. It was a great hit and I think most families in Elvington had a part. I remember that Pearl and Alf Tridini were in it and the costumes were great.  All singing, all dancing.
A memory of Elvington contributed by Frankie Hilary

my Dad's childhood

Eastry, Church c1965

My Dad was a member of the church choir here when he was a child. Gerald Fuller is his name but he left the village around the age of 16. His parents continued to live in Eastry with their other children, Hazel, Brian and Chris. Dad immigrated to Melbourne, Australia were he met my mother and had my sister Amanda and I. Amanda and I were fortunate enough to visit Eastry in 1985 and the feeling of family and belonging was very overwhelming. I remember one night Nan(Nancy) took us to bingo in the town hall and a woman came and introduced herself to us.......aparently she was a second cousin. As far as I know I have alot of relatives in ...read more here
A memory of Eastry contributed by Emma Fox

Place of birth

Eastry, High Street c1965

From just about where the photograph was taken I was born.  The house was called Forge House obviously because of the Forge which my father used as a shed to house chickens in and then used as a workshop for his carpentry.  He was Foreman carpenter at Tilmanstone colliery. My brother and I were both born in the house which I believe now is being used as a care home.  I was 16 when that photo was taken.  
Elizabeth Andrews  February 2007
A memory of Eastry contributed by elizabeth hunter

Extracts From Elvington & Kent books

Pegwell, High Street 1907

On the right is the old Belle Vue Tavern dating back to the 1760s, which was an earlier haunt for smugglers. In 1831, the landlord Mr John Cramp received a visit from the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Princess Victoria; they dined on potted shrimp paste. Later, Mr Cramp received the Royal Appointment of Purveyor of Essence of Shrimps in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. On the left are the Floral Tea Gardens followed by the Pear Tree Inn, later Samuel Banger’s potted shrimp paste factory. His small paste pots had highly decorated lids depicting scenes of Pegwell; today they are valuable antiques.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Ramsgate, Spencer Square 1890

Work on building this elegant square started in 1802 after James Townley bought the ground. The buildings on the left were officers’ quarters during the Napoleonic Wars. The square was a large parade ground, and nearby Addington Street was a military camp. Frith’s photographer was standing outside No 6 Royal Road, where Vincent Van Gogh had stayed.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Here we see three of eight classical-style statues holding lanterns which stood at the junction of the High Street and George Street outside Sangers Amphitheatre and Hotel between 1911 and 1913. Six statues were removed and erected outside the Hall by the sea in Margate; the other two remained until 1939. There was controversy surrounding these figures: in 1908, Alderman Gwyn called them ‘an eyesore and a disfigurement’. Lord George Sanger had seen the originals of the statues in Paris outside the Grand Opera House in 1883, and had eight replicas cast, paying £50 per figure for the transport and erection of these statues. Opposite is Lloyds Bank, which moved to new premises in 1928, renting the building to the NatWest Bank. The piano sign next door denotes Golden & Wind’s premises.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Here we have a tranquil view at low water of the inner basin. On the extreme right is the Clock House. To its left in Smeaton’s dry dock is a sailing vessel being repaired. The fishing smacks in the foreground have RE numbers, denoting that they are registered in Ramsgate; later the E was dropped and only the letter R used.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Minster-In-Thanet, Abbey 1894

The abbey stands on the site of a Saxon nunnery set up by Domneva, and run by St Augustine’s monks from Canterbury; it was destroyed in the ninth century by the invading Danes. Rebuilding started in the 11th century. The year 1538 saw the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII, and the land reverted to the Crown. Later, ownership of the grounds went to the Conyngham family and various tenant farmers until 1937, when a community of German Benedictine nuns bought the monastery and 10 acres of land.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".