Upper High Street 1959, Sevenoaks
Upper High Street 1959, Sevenoaks Ref: S98067
Memories of Upper High Street 1959, Sevenoaks
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Sevenoaks & local memories
Read and share memories of Sevenoaks and Kent inspired by Frith photos.
The Noisy Ducks And Geese at Bradbourne Park Lakes
In 1971 Elizabeth and I bought our first home in Robyns Way backing on to these lakes. Sevenoaks Urban District Council charged residents half a crown (two shillings and sixpence) annual rent, for the right to have a gate from our back gardens leading directly into the park which was very convenient for a stroll around the waters edge. The Council asked for five years advance rent up front, and our solicitor charged us a fiver to negotiate this at a time when we had very little money! The unexpected problem was the mess made by the birds and also the noise they made when they walked around on our flat roof above our bedroom window. Our roof was covered in gravel and the birds just loved to scuff around on it first thing in the mornings! I recall there were three lakes with the lowermost on the other side of a road. We suffered some very hot dry summers in the 1970's and the water levels dropped alarmingly which... Read more
Echoes of The 1950s ...
I entirely share the words posted earlier by Philip Dew, one of my colleagues at Kemsing Primary school at the time. That trek over the hills to Woodlands now would be seen perhaps as a long haul journey ! That old grey horse too was a distinct memory, but we used to go home to the top of Childsbridge Lane down the streamway that was beside the old Dartford road track, long before the waterways were rearranged by the Water Company. Poor St Edith's Well has been a casualty of that particular piece of 'progress' ...
Woodlands Holiday Camp Swimming Pool
I was brought up in Kemsing at the foot of the Downs and we children would walk up to Woodlands Holiday Camp to swim for a shilling or so. On a fine weekend you could take your swimming things and some refreshments and stay up there for several hours. The pool was generally freezing and by today's standards pretty unhygenic and often with green slime on the walls and bottom and dead flies on the surface - but we did not worry too much. On the way to and from the pool we had to cross a field which usually had an old grey horse in and I was always glad to get through there.
Walking to Lunch
When I first started school we would walk up the High Street in a "crocodile" to a cafe were we had our lunch. We then walked back to school for the afternoon lessons.
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!
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.
