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Smeeth
Smeeth maps
Historic maps of Smeeth and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Smeeth maps
Smeeth area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Smeeth and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Smeeth
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memories of Smeeth.
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Good For The Roses
I remember nearly forty years ago, my sister Jo's pony dumped on the pub's forecourt, and the landlady, also Jo, had a strong point-of-view about the mess.
Sister Jo quick-wittedly suggested to landlady Jo that one should be grateful for the deposit, which would no doubt be good for the nearby roses... c.1972/3
Kent memories
Born in Sellindge
I was born in Sellindge in 1947, at 1 Railway Cottages. There were 3 cottages, my aunt lived in no. 2, and Mrs Clark in no. 3. My dad was born in Sellindge, married and started married life in no. 1, and lived there until his death in 1961.
I remember Mum sending me 'up the shop' for a bag of sugar or 'half a pound of marge'. Sometimes it would be a Sunday when the shop was closed or Wednesday afternoon, and Mum would say 'Go round the side door and ask Mrs Batchelor if she could let me have a bag of sugar till Friday when Dad gets paid'.
One day my dog had puppies, and when they were old enough, Dad said I had to get homes for them. He'd made me a 'truck' out of an old wooden box and wheels and I pulled it along with string. So I put the puppies in the 'truck' and took them up to the shop and... Read more
Lovely Village
My earliest memories must have been around 1958 when I started school at Brook CP school at the top of Spelders Hill. There were two teachers; Miss Archer and Miss Cooling.
My family lived in Natslane in a bungalow designed by my father. My maiden name was Elliott.
105 The Street
I have no memories of Willesborough as I visited it for the first time on 26.8.08. My reason for visiting was that I was trying to find where my grandparents once lived, and surprise surprise it's still there, 105 The Street. Their names were Thomas Alfred Barton and his second wife Flossie May Foster. This was Thomas's second wife, his first wife Kate Elizabeth Butcher was my mother's mother, her name was Daisy Barton, she had a sister Carrie Ann Barton but she died with her mother of influenza in 1915, they are buried together in Willesborough cemetary. I had lunch in the Warren Cottage Hotel, a 300 year old building nearly opposite where my granddad and mother lived. The landlady Carol was telling me the hotel is haunted by a little girl about 5 and her mother aged about 35. They died within a few months of each other. I feel that this is Kate Elizabeth Barton and her daughter Carrie Ann Barton, how strange that I chose this... Read more
The Manleys
I was born here on 10/11/1946, my parents were Mr Norman Charles Manley and Mrs Winafred Ann Manley, we moved to Westwell in 1950.
Lympne Airport in The 50s
That plane was bright blue! As far as I can remember, the pilot was Polish - left over from the war. He used to keep the plane at the airport, and give stunning free acrobatic displays on bright sunny days. For special events, like the village fete, he would give short flights. My mum paid for me and my brother to have one once - first time I'd ever flown. When we first moved to Lympne (very near the airfield) in 1952, the planes were Silver City Bristol Freighters, with huge front opening doors that swallowed cars whole. Silver City moved to Lydd, and they were replaced by Skyways, with a fleet of Dakotas. The runway was grass, and when Skyways wanted to replace their ageing Daks with HS748 turbo-props, they had to lay a concrete strip because the new planes couldn't land on grass. There was a lady (can't remember her name) who used to excercise her racehorses on the periphery of the field. One of her horses triggered a... Read more
County Members
That pub is the County Members. We lived just round the corner, in the Street, which leads to the Castle. Between us and the pub, was an old farmhouse, which became the Castle Tea Rooms for a short while. My mum cleaned at the pub, which was three old cottages knocked into one, resulting in the living accommodation being at the top of one flight of stairs, but going to bed, meant you had to go downstairs, through the public bar, and then up another flight of stairs between the public bar and the 'snug'
