You are here:
Swanley Village
Swanley Village photos
Displaying the first of 3 old photos of Swanley Village. View all Swanley Village photos
Swanley Village maps
Historic maps of Swanley Village and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Swanley Village maps
Swanley Village area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Swanley Village and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Swanley Village
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Swanley Village.
Add your memory of Swanley Village
or of a photo of Swanley Village.
Swanley Village
Hello, my name is Chris Hay and my nan was Irene Rooke ( the Rookes that lived opposite the Red Lion PH). I can remember spending time with my mum's aunty, nan's sister Hilda Goose (Rooke) at the time she lived up in Wood Street but I know she lived in the house next to The Lamb PH when she got married to Tom. Think the house is called the chapel? My nan worked as ayoung girl at the Vicarage and looked after a little boy I think was called Tony Gellico, the vicar's son, up to when she moved to Dartford and married Henry Hawkins. I have very fond memories of time playing on the Gleeb and generally in the woods and fields around Swanley Village and Hextable. I would love to hear from anyone who knew the Rookes as I'm trying to compile a family tree.
My Playground
The Priory was my playground from 1936 untill I started work in 1948. My father was Nip Turner, and he worked for Sir Edward Bligh as his chauffeur/gardener from 1920s untill 1972.
I was born in 1933 at Lower Daltons. My parents moved to Swanley in1936, and from then on my father cycled to the Priory twice a day, once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. I spent all my holidays at The Priory, mainly playing in the loft above the stable block. It was a child's paradise up there. It was full of toys, that had belonged to Tim and Guyon Bligh. Apart from driving The Old Boy to the station at Swanley, my father ran the nursery behind the house and grounds. I think there was about 25 acres, including three large greenhouses and an old potting shed.
Mrs. Bligh was involved in charity work for the poor of London. Every summer she gave a garden party for about 200 people from the east end... Read more
Kent memories
The Careers Service College in Hextable
Kent College for the Careers Service was in College Road, Hextable. I was a student living in this college in 1987 and enjoyed my studies very much as the nature of the course tended towards exploring local facilities and occupations. I graduated and left in 1988 to become a school careers adviser with Hertfordshire Careers Service.
I recall the college principal at that time was Alaine Somerville and my own tutor was Phil Glasson. The college tended to attract sociable, sincere and honest people who were drawn to a caring profession. During my year there we endured the "Great Storm" of October 1987 when one of the college chimneys was blown down and through the roof into the first floor bedrooms! I recall that day very well as the college had organised a day long outing for us to the National Sea Training College at Gravesend - we were surprised to be told that it would be unsafe for them to take us out on the River. Clearly they... Read more
I Remember This Pub The Red Lion
In this photo is the Red Lion pub, right next door to my Auntie Winn and Uncle George house. Where the white picket fence is, is the end of Auntie Winn's front garden. I remember also straight across the road, was a shop that I used to do errands for. The shop sold everything you needed in those days, but it closed down after a few years. George and my Dad, used to have a beer or two in the Red Lion, when we visited them, while we used to stay indoors with Auntie Winn and her real live coal fire. Auntie Winn's daughter was born in this house, and I am still in touch with her today, her name is Sonia, my dear Cousin. Auntie Winn used to work in the Jam factory out the back of her garden, and her garden was always full of home grown vegetables, and fruit. The fields, were not so far away, and we used to walk Auntie Winn's dog, called Glen, he... Read more
Swanley Village 1934
I was born in Model Cottages,1934. in the Village at that time there was a bakers, (my father was one of the bakers he only had to cross the road to go to work), a grocery store next to the public house, post office, butchers, in a house down the hill past the church, a coal merchant Mr Partridge, and a sweet shop. During the war a land mine fell in a field, and it was placed in the village for all to see. I have many memories of Swanley Village and Swanley Junction. I remember wondering why so many people had birds names, there was a Partridge, a Rook, a Goose, I think there is even now a Mr Rook is living in the village. We would walk to Swanley Junction if we needed to shop for things our general store didn't keep. My family have lived in Swanley for 250 years, there have been many changes, not all for the better of our community.
Station Road, Railway Cottages
My dad worked for BR, as it was then, and we moved from Rochester, Kent, to Swanley in about 1963. He worked in the Control Room which was on Station Approach and we lived in one of the railway cottages, that had yet to be built ,in this photo. We lived in number 8 opposite the butchers, Lyn's and I can remember having to stand at the front room window watching for a quiet moment so my mum could pop over there with out having to wait too long!
Model Cottages
I have just been going through a case of my grandparents' photos and I see they lived at 2 Model Cottages - their names were Henry and Harriett Plume and they had three sons, Henry, George and Norman, the latter being my dad who is alive and well, but sadly his two brothers have passed away. What I am trying to work out is whether the first house next to the car park in Swanley High Street is actually known as 2 Model Cottage or just 2 Swanley High Street, which is what I always thought it was? That house has been marketed recently and I so wanted to go back and have a reminisce. If you know of my family then I would love to hear back.
