Memories of Newhaven
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 Newhaven, c1950 (ref: N20029) |
Year: 1955
Meeching Court Farm
My father's aunt and uncle lived in Newhaven. Ted Hoskins was his uncle's name, he was injured in the First World War and later worked at the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater before it was automated. His wife's name was May Jane. After the Second World War I went with my parents many times to Newhaven for holidays, always in September. In 1955 we stayed in a caravan on the Meeching Court Farm site in a caravan with the name 'Amy', it was situated on the hill and you could see the ferries come in and out of the harbour. The milkman came round each morning with the milk, my mother used to buy Channel Islands milk, thick with cream. The milkman was a man called Bob, and he used to come in a little van and blow a claxon horn. The van leaned when he got in, he was such a well-made jolly man. I think he later went to Canada, he used to live in one of the cottages at the bottom of the lane. There was a little wooden shop at the bottom of the site. The following year we bought our own tourer and parked down in the bottom near the farm house owned by Mr & Mrs Bowles. There was a little bungalow nearby where a Canadian lady lived, and her hens used to run in and out of the bunglow. One windy Sunday I spent all day flying a kite in the field opposite what later became Downland Caravan Park. When I was married in 1963 I spent my honeymoon in a caravan on Downland Caravan Park. What wonderful simple happy holidays we enjoyed, picking mushrooms, blackberries and playing on the beach, then going for a hot drink at the cafe. My father spent many hours fishing off the breakwater, there must be thousands of pounds worth of fishing tackle down there for everybody used to lose it on a regular basis. My father's cousin was also Teddy Hoskins, he lived in Seaford and drove the Southdown buses. I am led to believe he ended his days in a retirement/nursing home in Peacehaven. He had one son called Edwin who I think will be 66 now, but I lost touch with in the 1950s. The High Street was lovely, I remember the Home & Colonial store and how did the lorries not go into the pub at the bottom? The bypass was necessary but last time I was there it was not the same. Happy memories Last edited: 05/12/2008 10:11 by Dorothea Smedley |
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 Newhaven, the Promenade at high tide c1965 (ref: N20068) |
Year: 1960
The Horse Shoe Bite
The small sandy beach at Newhaven was known as the horse shoe bite. It was completely covered at high tide, but as the water receded, it exposed fine golden sand, ideal for making castles and getting in your sandwiches. A row of barnacle-peppered rocks along the breakwater wall also got revealed with the falling tide, where a myriad of crabs hid amongst the clinging seaweed and a wonderland of rockpools formed, waiting to be explored. In the distance on the left of the photo you can just see the beginning of the breakwater, it's on the right of the harbour as you look at the sea. It was a good walk to the end, where generally in good weather there'd be a gaggle of fishermen dangling their lines. One half of the breakwater, as you proceeded seawards, was sheltered from the west by a high wall, inside of which was a sheltered promenade, fronted by arched openings that ran its entire length. In fine weather we would race along the exposed top of this covered way, but on stormy days it wasn't the place to be caught, and we'd watch the waves crash and cascade over the grey concrete sea defence from a safe distance, closer to the harbour. My mum told us that when she was a youngster, she and her brother would dive of the end of the breakwater at high tide. It sounded dicey to me, as she said you had to time it right, and wait for the wavesto rise and give you a good depth of water. It was something we were discouraged from doing. Frequently there were car ferries and cargo boats entering or exiting the harbour, and the wash from the boats would send out large waves. These we were allowed to play in, and we'd swim out of our depth to catch the biggest of them and surf in on our bellys, fabulous fun. We had many giggles watching the uninitiated getting swamped by the suddenly swollen waves. The tide in the bite could catch you napping too, as it would creep in along the rocks and get you from behind. When the tide prohibited you from gaining access to the sandy beach, we'd spend time on the West beach to the far side of the breakwater. It was a steep beach with big smooth chalk boulders lolling among flint pebbles like beached white whales. It was totally different from the sheltered sandy horse shoe, the sea was always rougher, but much more productive as far as driftwood and interesting flotsom and jetsom were concerned, and a great place to enhance mum's collection of holey pebbles. The other oddity I remember was the old fort and moat. The fort was tunnelled under the white chalk cliffs, fronted with brick arches and barred windows. The fort itself had been boarded up for years, but the moat was behind the horse shoe beach, and sea water would flood in under the road at high tide, and out again as the tide ebbed. The smell from the thick gooey mud the receding tide revealed made you wrinkle your nose, but was inhabited by a healthy community of little green crabs who obviously thrived in the conditions, I think mum called them applejacks, but I can't be sure. Anyway they're long gone poor little things, the moat's been filled in and turned into parking. There was another beach we used to visit on the other side of the harbour, the East side. It was a bit of a trek, but the beach was often deserted, and the swimming was great, like the West side it was a pebble beach that shelved steeply, but the sea was more sheltered. Mum would light a fire from the driftwood and brew up in an old bean can, and we'd cook sausages on bits of stick, and I have to say, those were the best sausages I've ever tasted, mmmm... Last edited: 24/04/2008 08:51 by Kathy Farmer |
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 Newhaven, the Harbour c1960 (ref: N20054) |
Year: 1964
Mackerel Fishing
Many's the time we wandered along the edge of the harbour and up and down the landing stages, studying the leathery faced fishermen's busy hands as they worked on the nets, or repaired lobster pots. We'd peep around, what seemed huge metal doors and gates clad in rusting wire mesh, to get a glimpse of the boat yards beyond, and if we'd enough in our pocket for a cup of tea, we stop at the cafe that looked across the harbour, and out towards the bridge on the left. The owners always had time for us, and if they had any stale bread and cake, they'd let us have it to feed the swans that swam among the boats just a few steps from their entrance, though needless to say, the swans only got what was left after we'd picked out all the edible bits. It was from Newhaven that I had my first fishing trip. A family friend took us out in his small fishing boat, and the fact he'd lost a finger made an impression on me. He told us that basically he'd worn it away from many years of guiding the fishing line across the joint. We fished for mackerel with fishing lines that had lots of hooks in a row, and I think feathers attached to them. We caught a good many and in the evening fried them over an open fire, then enjoyed them with thick slices of wholemeal bread and butter and cups of sweet milky tea. In the background of the photo you can still see the shearlegs, the long poles that form a triangle on the left, they were used to lift masts into place and manouvre boat engines before cranes were common place. Things changed a great deal during the years around 1965. Much of the land around the harbour was bought up and fenced off to be 'upgraded' into a marina. Once commercialisation hit the small seaside town, for us it lost it's appeal, although that maybe because we grew up and could no longer see it with the naivety of a child. Last edited: 24/04/2008 08:54 by Kathy Farmer |
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Newhaven, c1950 (ref: N20029) |
Year: 1964
Bowles Caravan Site
I believe this is the caravan site that was, and may still be, situated on Mr and Mrs Bowles farm. (Not sure of the spelling of Bowles.) My mum and the five of us children spent many happy holidays here. The van that we stayed in was called 'Hartings' and was on the track that led to the farm. It had no mains connected to it. I don't know how we all squeezed in, but I do remember a double bed that folded out of the wall. The high spot of the day was the visit to the little camp shop, where if we were lucky mum would give us a few pence for an icecream. My mum had fond memories of the place, as she was born in Newhaven, and her parents lived at 27 Second Avenue until grandads death in about 1968. Her mum had been a primary school teacher, and her father worked as a steam engine driver, and later, on the electric trains. My mum had special connections with the Bowles, as she had worked on the farm in her teens. Posted: 23/04/2008 17:20 by Kathy Farmer |
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 Newhaven, c1965 (ref: N20071) |
Year: 1965
Mum With Kids
The lady in the foreground looks very like my mum with me walking to her left and my sister in the pushchair. We lived locally and went to the beach all the time. It would be interesting to see that part enlarged so I could identify them. My favourite memory of that time was the excitement we felt on arrival and smelling the familiar smell of seaweed draped all the way up the concrete steps leading on to the sand, and the lovely feel of sand under your feet as you padded down them. Last edited: 04/08/2006 17:17 by Terrie Leach |
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