High Street c1955, Tenterden
High Street c1955, Tenterden Ref: T24027
Memories of High Street c1955, Tenterden
22 High Street
The building on the left, next to the Town Hall with five windows on the first floor was W H Smith & Sons and my father, Gordon Howard, was the manager. I was born in the flat above the shop in 1955.
Tenterden & local memories
Read and share memories of Tenterden and Kent inspired by Frith photos.
A 'Wealden' House Converted to 'Continuous Jetty' Type
Interesting photo: this timber-framed building is actually a 'Wealden' converted to 'Continuous Jetty' type.
"Towards the close of the 15th century, an entirely new kind of dwelling appeared in the Weald. Its [the Continuous Jetty type] distribution is wide and more general than that of the 'Wealden' house, and it is extremely common in East Anglia. Whether developed in either of the areas where it is found, or imported as a complete design, it is impossible to say.
It was the first vernacular house type in the region to be constructed with two stories throughout. Although the hall was retained as a principal room it was not open to the roof; it was floored over as part of the initial construction and a chamber fomed above. There can be little doubt that the growing popularity of this house [type] during the first half of the 16th century provided a very strong stimulus towards the flooring-over and conversion of earlier halls.
It tends to be an urban type,... Read more
W H Smith & Son
The building on the right was W H Smith & Sons. My father, Gordon Howard was the manager and we were living in the flat above the shop from 1955 to 1965. You can see that the shop is closed because the shutters are down. The shop front was painted dark green. The windows upstairs are open so we must have been at home and it must have been fine weather!
W H Smith & Son
My father, Gordon Howard, was manager of W H Smith & Son in 1955, the year I was born. It's amazing looking at these photos taken at the time I was living in Tenterden. It's possible I saw the photos being taken or we might actually appear in one of them.
Clare House
Does anyone know where the name Clare House came from? Is this property in the High Street, north side? I had relations surnamed 'Clare' who lived in a very similar property in the 1930/40s. The front door is different now, and steps went up to it. Any information please?
