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Stanmore memories

Here are memories of Stanmore and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Stanmore or a Stanmore photo.

Regent House

During family research, I discovered that my grandmother, a Miss Bull was living in Regent House. She may have been in service, can anyone help with the family name or any other details of her employer?

OLD CHURCH

The Broadway c1955
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In the fifties, my mother worked at the Stanmore Cottage Hospital. As I cycled down Uxbridge Road to visit her at work, I imagined the ivy-covered old church to be a Norman Keep. Does anybody know why the old church was allowed to fall into disrepair and the new one built next door?

Susan Johns Remembers Stanmore

The Broadway c1955
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This is Buckingham Cottage, it was the hunting lodge of the Duke of Chandos.  When I was a child, two old ladies lived there and there were always butterflies in the garden which us kids used to catch. The story was that the two old ladies used to wake up to the sound of wild parties and were overcome by the smell of burgundy wine. This happened frequently but burgundy wine was never found. When the workmen were tearing down the cottage they were overcome with the smell of burgundy wine but still none was ever found. I would like to add that the people responsible for tearing down this beautiful cottage should be shot!  

I was born above Wyman's shop on Church Road in 1944, my father was the manager there. I loved Stanmore with all my heart. My parents were married in St John's and I was christened there, and although I have lived in sunny San Diego, California for forty years I bought my daughter... Read more

Memories of Middlesex

The Town I Grew up in

Edgwarebury Lane c1955
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This was the town I grew up in until I was 8.  There is one day that stands out in my mind.  My mother had been informed that the local fruiterer had oranges. His location was about half a mile from our house.  England was still in the grip of heavy rationing. As I loved oranges, our Mother decided that I should go with her instead of one of my three siblings.  We left the house and had walked about 100 yards then we came across a queue, my Mother enquired whether they were queueing for meat, bread or fish the answer was no, it was oranges, so we dutifully waited and slowly it gradually got to our turn. When my mother was offered ONE lowly orange she enquired with a certain amount of annoyance why the purveyer of the fruit had not informed the queuees that he was running low on oranges and why the previous customer had not taken the last orange, she was told that it would... Read more

Edgware

Edgwarebury Lane c1955
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This year we came over to England from Africa - so first impression of England was this suburban town, the majority of habitants were Jewish; close community, just like our Indian community. Most of my friends were Jewish. The atmosphere and smells were of Jewish cooking.  My friends' fathers were also businessmen, so I related to them.  During my school days, I read Anne Frank's Diary, I am David and watched Fiddler on the Roof on television, I understood where they came from. My first home in England was in Edgware and where my mother still lives. It still holds happy memories of my childhood..It has since changed drastically, but I will always consider it home..

My Family Church

St Lawrence's Church c1955
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This was the church I attended with my family as a child from 1950-1966 when I moved away to college. My father is buried at the end of the path up to the entry to the church. The rector for some time was Rev. Cottrell with three children who were about the age of my twin and me. The boys were called Richard and David. Our lives pretty well revolved round the church with sunday Services,Sunday school and church breakfast and the youth group as we got older and scouts and girl guides. The rector lived in a huge cold manse next to the church where we would have the annual summer fete.To get to church we would ride in my fathers Turquoise Vauxhall Velox ( his pride and joy until he got a huge old Humber Super Snipe) or we would walk across Canons Park. We lived in a community near North London Colleigate school opposite the Principal, head mistress Dame Kitty Anderson. My father used to walk... Read more

Edgware, Station Road

Station Road 1954
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I lived in Edgware between 1959 and 1969, I was only 6 months old when we moved from Harrow. I can remember my mother going into the haberdashery shop called Stanley J Lees, the original Sainsbury's with wooden floors and counters and where they wrapped up the cheese in greaseproof paper, Woolworths, MacFisheries (with their upstairs restaurant), Valentine Brooks the sweet shop, Fine Fare's down by the library, also the furriers in Edgebury Lane which was diagonally opposite the Kosher grocers. I can also remember the wood yard (somewhere around where the Green Shield Stamp building was eventually built) where they used to let me scrabble round the floor and collect bags of sawdust for my guinea pig's cage for no charge. I spent many an hour up the alleyway that led to the sidings of the train station watching the tube trains, it was next to Brill the bakers and I can still smell the bread baking as it was wafted out of the Expelair right by the train... Read more

Now I Remember

Having discovered this site only recently many memories came flooding back, as reminded by the photo of Hale Lane where I helped out in the Kosher Deli as a kid.
I lived in Lynford Gardens then in Glendale Avenue over a period of about 10 years from the age of nine until 19 when I left to live overseas.
Looking back today I feel very fortunate to have grown up here having moved from Kensington out to the 'Green Belt' as it was known in those days.
I attended Edgware Secondary Modern School and as a kid used to roam far and wide especialy on bicycles with my mates. Climbing the big oak trees in Edgwarbury Park, and missing out on school to go exploring the countryside on bikes and cycling to Hampstead Heath in the snow to slide down the Heath. Great memories of lots of friends and plenty to do. These days I live in Australia in the middle of the rainforest, who would have ever dreamt as... Read more

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