Nostalgic memories of Southborough's local history

Share your own memories of Southborough and read what others have said

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.

Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.

Add a Memory!

It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the 'Add Your Memory' buttons to begin

Displaying all 8 Memories

I lived with my parents in Southborough until I was 17 years old. My Gran also lived quite near to us. My dad and all his brothers and sisters went to St. Peters School on the common. So did my older brother and two young sisters. I can well remember my first long walk there, all the way down Manor Road, past Holden Pond, where we often used to take our jam jars to try to colect tadpoles, (Mrs. Petty used ...see more
From the 1930s, when I first saw it from a pram to about the 1960's, Holden Pond was a wonderful place for wildlife. Each March hundreds, maybe thousands, of frogs and toads, hopped and crawled there to breed. The water was clear, and from the roadside you could see them swimming about on the bottom among Canadian pondweed, along with smooth and palmate newts. Weeks late,r the water would be black with shimmying ...see more
I was sent to Southborough from London in September 1939 and was billeted with a lovely couple, Mr and Mrs Brown who lived at Holden Corner. I was with another girl evacuee named Audrey and she and l just loved the chickens and fishing (with jam jars) in the pond. We went to the village school, bought Tizer and ice-cream from the shop, and I seem to remember going to the church there, ...see more
Hello - I was a chorister at the church, I think between 1958/60 as I was born in 1947,o ur family the Schofields lived at no 10 Carville Avenue, Southborough, we were a Christian family. I have only found out by doing family research lately that my mother was of Welsh  extraction and traced her ancestors back to Llanyblodwell in mid Wales - she always told me her family were chapel - which I didn't understand until ...see more
In the sixties my inlaws (Mr & Mrs F King) used to keep ducks on the pond and in the evenings would drive them home, to bed them down in a duck house in their back garden of 27, Holden Corner. In latter years the Council built a house for the ducks in the middle of the pond. The corner shop that Michael Willcocks refers to, where he bought his Tizer was owned and run by Mrs Petty. Richard Stronghill.
Southborough, Holden Corner 1896 (ref: 37896) Year: 1940s Fishing This is the Fish Pond at Holden Corner, Southborough. This was one of the two accessible and popular places for boys to go fishing in Southborough - the other was the Great Bounds Lake, near Bidborough. As a boy in the 1940s and early 50s my Dad, Jack, bought me a fishing rod and my Dad and I would go down to the pond to go fishing. As I ...see more
The Parade, Southborogh, was where my mother, Ivy, did most of her shopping. At that time you could buy pretty well everything you would need in the Parade. Trips into Tunbridge Wells were only taken if there was a need for something very special or the "sales" were on!! Just round the corner in Pennington Road was an Off Licence called "Fisters" which is where we bought our rationed sweets - usually ...see more
This is the Fish Pond at Holden Corner, Southborough. This was one of the two accessible and popular places for boys to go fishing in Southborough - the other was the Great Bounds Lake, near Bidborough. As a boy in the 1940s and early 50s my dad, Jack, bought me a fishing rod and my dad and I would go down to the pond to go fishing. As I recall there was very little change from when the photo was taken. For a time in ...see more