Swiss Cottage memories
Here are memories of Swiss Cottage and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Swiss Cottage or a Swiss Cottage photo.
Cottage Grill
The whole Swiss Cottage area has changed beyond recognition. There seem to be few photos of how it was till the late 1960s, when the Cottage Grill, my father's restaurant, was demolished. This building gave it's name to the whole area as it was built in the style of a Swiss cottage (not a Swiss chalet!). The Swiss Cottage pub at that time looked NOTHING like a Swiss cottage or a Swiss chalet - it was re-styled to look like that later, giving the impression it gave its name to the area. I can find no photos of Swiss Cottage with the restaurant in the middle of the road junction where an Underground entrance now is. Behind the restaurant, which was once a farmhouse and dairy when the area was all fields, was a garage, then the pub, then the Odeon cinema. Opposite was an arcade of shops and the Tube station, and Belsize Road was a major road with buses running right into Finchley Road. On the other side... Read more
Working in The West End
I have very fond memories of my very first job. I worked for Healey & Baker at 28 St. George Street, Hanover Square. I started out in the Duplicating Room, running an old print press, and would fill in with the telephone operators at lunch time, My supervisor was Sally Clark and she became my mentor. I graduated to the typing pool, along with about 15 other girls. It was a wonderful time of my life. All the girls became friends and we would often stay in town have dinner at a pub on Maddox Street, (forgot the name) and then go dancing at the Lyceum on the Strand. I recently visited London (I now live in the US) and Healey & Baker have moved and the building looks different, but the Square and surrounding area is still the same. Wonderful, wonderful memories.
Finchley Road And Lymington Road
I have just returned from London and I was checking to see if there were any photos of Finchley Road and Lymington Road. I was born at No 8 Depot Cottages and stayed there until my dad passed away in 1959. My mates and I drank at the bar along Finchley Road, one pal's family had the flower stall outside the station at John Barnes, my school was Holy Trinity. I also spent a lot of time looking at the American cars at Hampstead Cars. I love Hampstead, it has all my good times there, with my dad, my mum Jill Dennis, Jacky. I now live up north with my wife and kids, a long way from London!
Born Close to This Station!
I too saw this photograph in a cafe in Goldhurst Terrace. I recognised Finchley Road and Frognal Station as I was born in a flat closeby in 1967. My parents moved into the flat in 1966 and I was so glad to track down the photo and order a copy for my father. I remember my parents telling me how Finchley Road used to be lined with trees and wide pavements and now I can see that for myself!
Blast From The Past
I was born in 1959 and we moved from Rossly Hill to Canfield Gardens in 1960. I am now 50 and still live and work very close to Canfield Gardens. I went for a coffee with a friend yesterday to the cafe at the top of Goldhurst Terrace, just down the side of Waitrose (used to be Ken & Marie deli!) and noticed a set of wonderful black and white prints of the Finchely Road and Swiss Cottage from 1965. It was extraudinary to see these photographs and it really was a blast from the past becasue this area looked just like that up until I was about 10 so I remember it all very well - really made my day. We had great shops then, very different from how it is today!
Born in Hampstead 3rd October 1945
Towards the end of the Second World War my parents met and married while on active service in Egypt. As soon as my mother knew she was expecting me, the Royal Air Force sent her back to England on a troopship and she was welcomed by her mother-in-law who she had never previously met! They had a flat together in Walm Lane Cricklewood so when it was time for me to enter the world they found a nearby nursing home - no National Health Service in those far off days!
And so it was that I was born in 85 Fordwych Road and my birth certificate records it as "Hampstead, Middlesex". These days it is no longer Hampstead but just part of the London Borough of Camden!! I am proud of my Hampstead roots although I suppose I should also consider the fact that I was conceived in Africa!!
I remember a lot about the area including the bomb damage from the war, the... Read more
Memories of Greater London
Dick Turpin
I lived in Hampstead from 1937-1941. Just before the war started my cousins and I used to play for many hours on Hampstead Heath One of our favourite spots was the Viaduct and Pond.
We were very wary of entering the arch on the far left. Halfway through the archway, on the left was an iron gate which was kept locked. We had been told that Dick Turpin had hidden up there at one time and the ghost of his horse haunted the archway.
We often sprinted through the archway casting a scared glance at the gate half hoping to see the ghost. On one occasion, very daring, we sat outside until dusk hoping to catch a glimpse of the ghost. But after our reception for a late homecoming we didn't try again.
Royal Soldiers Daughters School (boarding) Rosslyn Hill
I remember the day my mother left me there. It was raining, outside and in my heart The school had church-like double doors and as we went in it felt like the end of the world to me. I was only six years old. Rosslyn House has gone now, just memories. Anyone remember Miss Betts I wonder? And Miss Lloyd and her dachsund Bishop?
Royal Soldiers Daughters School
I also remember Miss Betts and Miss Lloyd and her dog. Pat Weedon must have been there at the same time as me. I was then Linda Roberts number 61!
My Memories of Kilburn
I was born in early 1967 and lived on malvern road kilburn till around 1975
then my parents moved to kilburn square, where we lived in rathbone house till 1980 and moved to kensal green.
my memory of growing up in kilburn was a mixture of tears and joys...tears because as common for most children i bunked school and got many a hiding for my neglect...my joys came in the form of long summer holidays spent playing with my friends around the estate.
also i fell in love for the first time in about 1978 which i remember was a wonderful feeling i will never forget.
i rarely visit kilburn these days but i remain fond of it.
Cricklewood And Kilburn Area
I was born in this area in 1939 and lived in Cricklewood until 1955 when we moved to Dollis hill (Hamilton Road). We were in Olive Road throughout the war and would shelter in the street shelter and sometimes in Smiths (near what was Rolls Razor on the Broadway near the Bus Garage).I remember the Queen's cinema on the Broadway and the Crown(which is still there. The 16 bus ran to Kilburn where I went to school from 11yrs-16 yrs. In those years the cinemas were the Ionic,the Grange the Essoldo and the State. My parents were both born in Kilburn and never moved far from their roots. When I married,I moved away to South London but I was never happy there and in 1976,I came back to North London and here I have stayed! I have returned to Mora road school and to St Michaels church,it hasn't changed much.I remember the bomb that dropped in Ivy road,killing several people.I remember the artillery battery in Gladstone Park,the collection of... Read more
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 28,909 memories of 5,955 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Hawley, Hampshire
- Nazeing, Essex
- Crawshawbooth, Lancashire
- Bootle, Merseyside
- Beckenham, Kent
- Rhydyfelin, Mid Glamorgan
- Conicavel, Morayshire
- Hornsey, Greater London
- Godstone, Surrey
- Severn Stoke, Worcestershire
- Carlisle, Cumbria
- Southampton, Hampshire
- Neath, West Glamorgan
- Hampton Wick, Surrey
- Bridge Of Gairn, Aberdeenshire
- Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire
- Braunston, Northamptonshire
- Heywood, Lancashire
- New Malden, Surrey
- Oadby, Leicestershire
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
