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Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst photos
Displaying the first of 6 old photos of Sissinghurst. View all Sissinghurst photos
Sissinghurst maps
Historic maps of Sissinghurst and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Sissinghurst maps
Sissinghurst area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Sissinghurst and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Sissinghurst
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Sissinghurst.
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Shopping
This, I believe, is me as an 8-year-old shopping. This road is now so busy you can hardly get across it. The pub in the background has gone and so has the shop I am walking towards. At the time of this photo there were 5 shops, a butchers, a baker's, two pubs and a garage. Now there are two shops and a pub.
Kent memories
Where my Father Worked
My father worked at the mill in approximately 1958. I recall it being repaired by Dutch engineers at that time. Next door was a grocer's shop, but I cannot remember the name. We lived at the time near Goudhurst. What a terrific place for a young person to play!
Park Farm
I lived in Colliers Green at Park Farm, at that time a dairy and fruit farm. I went to school at the primary school. Just down the road was a charcoal burners. Latterly I went to Bethany School at Curtisen Green. Good memories.
Life in A Kent Village During World War Two
Benenden was my home for the first 5 years of my life. We lived in Greenwood, a lovely white Kentish weather-boarded house on the Cranbrook Road, sadly knocked down and modernised a couple of years ago. I was born on February 14, 1940 in a glorious country house in Langley called Rumwood Court, which is still there. It was a maternity home in the War. Of course my mum called me Valentine, because of my date of birth, but luckily Anthony came first. My brother, John, who was six, wrote to my mum, saying 'Call him Chysanthemum.' She kept the postcard for years, to show what a clever boy he was to spell it correctly. My parents had moved to Kent to escape the bombing in London, but of course the Battle of Britain was fought right over the homes of Kent. I remember seeing planes being shot down in flames just above where we lived. Later when the V-bombers came I remember running into the house... Read more
Hopping in Kent
Now I can't say 100% that it was Marden but it just sticks in my mind. Although I am only 31 now I went hopping a couple of times with my family who were originally from Silvertown. The last time I went was in the early to mid 1980s when everything was packing up. The things I remember about hopping was the huge cook house which had several fireplaces in along with a few old sofas and mattresses where we used to sit late into the night with everyone else who was staying in the huts. The huts were exactly that, just huts. I shared with my nan and grandad or my aunts or my dad sometimes or I would walk round the second row of huts and stay with one of my friend's family. They were made more homely with wallpaper and sideboards and kitchen tables that had been packed up in the car for that long jouney from London. In the morning the only place to shower and brush your... Read more
Hop Picking During The War
I hated hop picking. We started in 1938 to help pay for my sister's uniforms when she went to Ashford County School. At first my mother was slightly ashamed but soon entered ino the spirit and competition as to who could pick the most bushells. We had a half bin with the Worsleys having the other half. Mrs Worsley's father had been a police inspector in Tunbridge. The Worsleys were Scottish from thc 'Black Douglas' clan. (I learned much later my mother was from the Royal Stewart clan.) They supplied milk from theiir cows and coal. They also ran the fire station with their horse, which normally hauled the coal car, pulling the fire pump on its wooden wheels. Normally the horse had two speeds, stop or a slow amble, but once attached to the pump it would break into a gallop. The Worsleys were notoriously late starters so the milk was delivered in time for tea. I was let out early from hop picking to go home... Read more
School on The Hill
I have great memories of going to Sunday lunches to this lady's house. I do not remember her name but we had best china and tiger rugs (with the heads on). I was a pupil at St Mary's Convent on the outskirts of town, is it still there? My maiden name was Dalton.
