Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Sutton Valence books (30 available)
Sutton Valence memories
Read and share memories of Sutton Valence and Kent inspired by Frith photos
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Kent memories
{Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell
My great great grandfather was the Vicar or St. Peter and St. Paul. Please see http://www.robertsewell.ca/sewell.html#gen9 for further details. I suspect his remains were interred in the churchyard of St. Peter and St. Paul. Does anyone have any knowledge of this or perhaps a photo of a headstone?
A memory of Headcorn contributed by Robert Sewell
The Bearsted boys
I have put 1947 but infact it is from earlier than that to 1954.
I think this was a great place for us as kids as we had freedom and not much parental control, I think mainly due to our parents who had just survived the war years, and thinking how lucky we were all to be alive and not under Hitler.
One of my memories was being lifted from the tin bath to watch Spitfires chase 'doodle-bugs' over the village.
I remember sleeping under the table made from steel with mesh around so if we got bombed we may survive. I also remember a shell or bomb going off very close to our house and we ...read more here
A memory of Bearsted contributed by ian Simmons
Cream Puff
I remember the"Loco" that took you up the drive. Seeing my first elephant plus seeing and eating my first cream puff in the "Cafe". Mother and I had the last one and I remember seeing the cream ooze out of the pores. That is all I remember of the Zoo. I was born 1936, the war finished 1945. I presume the Zoo closed for the duration so when did I visit?
A memory of Maidstone contributed by Graham Vidler
Great Great Grandfather
Actually previous to 1860's. My Great Grandfather was born Under-the-Cliffe, Maidstone in 1845. His name was Thomas Ackworth Parker and his parents were Thomas Edward Parker and Susanna Elizabeth Parker, formally Ackworth. I assume this is what is now known as the Undercliffe.
A memory of Maidstone contributed by Dorothy Kelsall
Extracts From Sutton Valence & Kent books
The wondrous sight of blossom continues to greet many a springtime visitor to this central part of the county, where orchards are a prime feature. The village school's most famous old boy is Sydney Wooderson, a Blackheath Harrier, who in 1937 ran a mile in just four minutes and 6.4 seconds.
An extract from from"Kent Revisited Photographic Memories".
In 1933, 70 acres of chalk
downland were acquired by
Chatham and Gillingham
councils to create this
beautiful open countryside
nature reserve between the
two towns. The local wildlife
includes several species of
orchids and butterflies. At
the centre of this picture,
we can see the horses of
travellers whose mobile
homes are among the trees.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
The bus advertises Fremlins’
ales outside the Red Lion,
a Style & Winch house of
flamboyant grandeur, but
now no more, sad to say.
There are now traffic lights
and a great deal more
traffic where this policeman
stands on point duty at the
junction of High Street with
Corporation Street (left) and
Star Hill (right).
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
The virtual absence of
motor traffic suggests that
this photograph may have
been taken in 1956, during
the Suez Crisis petrol
rationing, which did not
end until the following year.
The restrained architecture
of The Eagle Tavern
contrasts with that of both
the Town Hall and the
Chatham Constitution Club
on the right of this picture.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
This part of the High Street is very different today, with The Sun Hotel gone from its Medway
Street corner site. The dome further down the street was on the old Empire Theatre, which
could seat 2,500 people. It specialised in music hall-style entertainment before it closed
during the 1960s.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".