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Vigo
Vigo maps
Historic maps of Vigo and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Vigo maps
Vigo photos
We have no photos of Vigo, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Wrotham| Wrotham Heath| Meopham| Offham| St Marys Platt| Borough Green| Snodland| West Malling| Longfield Hill| Halling| Hartley| Brands Hatch| Fawkham| West Kingsdown| Ightham| Cobham| Woodlands| Burham| Cuxton| Seal Chart| Plaxtol| West Peckham| Aylesford| Romney Street| Ivy Hatch| Wateringbury| Kemsing| Southfleet| Teston| Seal
Vigo area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Vigo and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Vigo
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Kent memories
Trips to Wrotham
I was born in London in 1940. Our flat was demolished by the first flying bomb so my parents moved to West Kingsdown when I was three months old. From an early age I remember being taken quite regularly by my mother along the A20 hitching a ride to Wrotham. When arriving in Wrotham and after walking along the High Street we turned left down a hill and a short distance down on the right was a butcher. I believe his name was Mr. Hoppe. It was there that we bought meat, using our food coupons. Once again for our return journey we hitched a free ride from a sympathetic lorry driver. Much later and after the war we travelled by Greenline coach until pertol rationing was eased and Mr. Hoppe could drive his van to deliver meat to residents in West Kingsdown.
Doodlebugs And Rock And Roll
I was born in 1940 in Langley Maidstone, Lord Routes' house, a wing of which was given over during the Second World War as a maternity part for expectant mothers. We lived on the main road in Wrotham, opposite a pub called The Spring Tavern, it's no longer there now. We lived next door to a family called Skinner, the children's names all began with the initial J. There was John, Julie Judy, and we all played together, my sister Jean and I. We would go up to the Nod, a small hill opposite our houses and play there for hours. We used to go to a big barn on the corner, where an artist lived, and we used to sit for him, while he painted us. I remember the day called Operation Overlord, when all the planes flew overhead, wave after wave.
Birling School.
The Headmistress of Birling School was Miss Bragger who lived in the schoolhouse a few steps from the porched door of the school. Miss Bragger taught the 7-11 year mixed classes. Mrs Dyke had charge of the 5-7 year olds, she had the most deadly aim with small pieces of chalk which came your way if you misbehaved. Each year we danced around the Maypole in the grounds of Birling Manor where a fete was held, we also had a ceremony for Empire Day, 24th May. I managed to be dressed up as Britannia on 2 occasions. We also had a service at the war memorial on November 11th each year, even in a snow storm we would be there. We always had to put a concert at Christmas. We held our Brownie meetings in a hut which was quite near the pub (was it the Bull?). I seem to remember the W.I. held jumble sales in the same place.
I remember the village shop cum Post Office with the... Read more
Station Road, Meopham
My parents moved into Station Rd in 1963, as a newly married couple. There was a terrace of new houses built in Station Rd in 1962/63 & theirs was the furthest house down the road, the end of the terrace, I think No.28? I was born there in 1965.
I used to go to playgroup at the old Scout Hut at the other end of the village & remember one very embarrassing event when I was about 4..... My mum was collecting me from playgroup & the bus was just at the bus stop as we came round the corner of the drive. My mum didn't want us to miss the bus, & ran to catch it, dragging me across the road behind her...but she couldn't understand why I was holding back so hard, until she went to lift me up onto the bus & realised that my knicker elastic had broken & my knickers were around my ankles (as they had been since half way across the road!!),... Read more
The Coronation
In 1953 very few households had television. I remember going along to the Fourways cafe on Coronation Day with my parents so that we could watch the Coronation on the television. My sister was only 3 and I was 5. The cafe was run by Mr and Mrs King. My now step mother worked there as a cook. Years later the cafe became the Fourways Furnishings, though I forget the exact name. That was run by Cyril & Hazel Knight.
The fish & chip shop on the corner, run by the Swinburnes, sold the most delicious ice lollies with real ice cream inside which we would buy on our way to Brownies which was held at the Church Hall on Quarry Hill.
Where I Lived in 1960
We moved into the flat above Snodland station on 9th January 1960 (my 8th birthday) and the extreme left upstairs window was the view from our lounge (or, rather - sitting room). I attended Brook Street CoE Primary school from then until 1963, when I moved to the "top school", known then as Snodland County Secondary School. The name change to Holmesdale was fairly soon after that as I recollect.
The lamps on Snodland station in 1960 were gas lit, with a pole to pull down the chain which in turn fired the gas onto the pilot light. Each lamp had to be lit individually - and took a fair time. My father was the Station Master, so I used to get to help the porters on the station.
Teacher Mr Charles Dodd
My grandad was a Mr Charles Robert Dodd who taught woodwork up till 1967 at the school from about 1948 till he died in 1967, can anyone remember him?
