Turnford memories
Here are memories of Turnford and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Turnford or a Turnford photo.
Turnford - A Peaceful Place
I was born and grew up in a happy, peaceful village where everyone knew everyone else. My memories are of long walks in a beautiful countryside which could have been a million miles from London instead of an hour on a greenline bus. Of thick fogs in November when traffic crawled at walking pace; indeed, one night my grandfather was leading the crocodile of vehicles and they all followed him up his drive and there was great difficulty in turning everyone around and getting them back onto the road. I remember my father saying he was going mushrooming one morning as there were some beauties at the end of the field which would be just ready at daybreak. The mushrooms grew just below the railway and when my father arrived at 6am a train had stopped, and the driver was picking the mushrooms! I remember many happy Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching cricket and the excitement of being allowed to score for the Rochford's 2nd... Read more
Memories of Hertfordshire
As it Was
Before the houses were built, I remember this area as an open field with blackberry bushes.
Visits to Bourne Close
Mr grandmother lived in Bourne Close and my mother was born there in 1923. She met my father in the late 40s when he was the minister of Hoddesdon Baptist Church. In the late 50s I regularly made the trip to Broxbourne with my mother from Surrey. We would leave home on a very early train and arrive in Broxbourne in time for breakfast. Later on my grandmother came to live with us, first in Godalming in Surrey and then in Hove, but my grandfather, who was a member of the church choir at St Augustine's is buried in the churchyard there, having died in 1950.
Morning Service at St Mary's in The 1960s
Like many young folks of the 1960s who grew up in Cheshunt churchgate area, when the time came to marry you almost always chose St Mary's as the place to have your wedding. It is a lovely old church. I also have happy memories of going to church on Wednesday mornings as I was a student, or pupil as we were called back in those days, at St Mary's School which was (and still is for a little longer before it is pulled down to make way for a bigger school further on up the road) - part of the school life for those of us at St Mary's, and it made a welcome break from practical maths and English lessons. If I cast my mind back to school days of the 1960s I can still taste that high church incense that would be used during the morning sevice and also hear dear old Mr Stan Mansfield snoring at the back of the church. Such happy days.
The Old Pond
On a visit back to the area after a long time away living in Australia. I was dismayed that what was the old triangle with the Old Pond pub in the middle and then changed to a roundabout with a fountain, the area was still known as the old pond because another pub opposite Ripleys was named The Old Pond. I now see that this has been changed to R J s or something and is up for lease. So now there seems to be nothing to indicate that the area is the old pond, other that a tiny sign at the top of Windmill lane that reads "20 Old Pond" how does anyone know that the area within 150 metres of the fountain is the Old Pond.
St Mary's Church
Re: St Mary's wednesday morning church service at Dewhurst Secondary as it was known in those days, I remember Stan Mathews falling asleep on his knees as in prayer. My mother now lives in the alms house next to the church, so every time i go back to visit it breaks my heart to see how much it's changing. I say for the worse, I mean you have only got to look at Broomer Cottage. It had a wonderfull garden, now it's houses, very sad, although Churchgate is supposed to be a historic area I have fond memories of Whithern Park with all the grass and pathways kept to great degree of tidyness. I remember being chased off the grass by the Parky as we called him, I think his name was Brian, then when I went to the park last September 2010, what avdifference, the grass trodden on the paths, not what they used to be, even the bowling green looks a bit 3rd rate.
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