'the Limes' London Road Abridge

A Memory of Abridge.

Looking at the photo 'Main Road and 'The Malsters Arms' 1955. you can see the row of lime trees which were in the grounds of 'The Limes' where my Grandparents lived. They were Mr.& Mrs Pond. (Joseph & Jessie). I think they moved to Abridge after the first world war and lived in the council houses over the road before moving to 'The Limes' some time later. Their eldest daughter Kathleen (my mum) married William Atkinson in 1935 and lived in Woodford Bridge and had three sons Terry, Alan & Roger (me)
We used to visit on a fairly regular basis in the fifties & early sixties and sometimes used to go down the village to the Post Office where we could buy 1d ice lollies !!!!
My Mum's brothers and sisters were all raised in Abridge, so altogether the family was, Kathleen, Margaret, Joyce, Philip(Pip), Norman (Jim) & James (Jack)
As far as known they would have all attended the local school in Hoe Lane and my Mum, even years later kept in touch with her school friend Ida Lucas who had married Arthur Rix and they lived further up the London Road and he was a local builder.
If you have any memories of any of these people please get in touch.

Contact Contributor

Added 21 August 2015

#338315

Comments & Feedback

Ida and Arthur Rix were really good people. Mr Rix would be so helpful to my parents and never minded to stop and have a chat even when he was working. As he was his own boss he didn't have anyone to answer to. There was a very tall poplar tree growing at the side of his builder's yard on London Road and it must have been the biggest tree in the district - a real marvel. I remember Ida in her very old age inviting us in to admire her collection of pottery owls. She complained about her feet which were in a very bad state. I think Mrs Styman senior, who lived on the other side of the road next to Mr Fred Matthews, the Secretary of the West Essex Ramblers Association ("The Footpath Walkers"), was her sister or am I wrong? She was also a lovely lady. I remember her giving me and my friend Sue Lynn sweets on our way to school one day. Also her son, John Styman, a well-known landscape artist of the district, coming to our house especially to show us children a family of hedgehogs, mum and her babies. Mr Matthews had a pronounced stoop forward in old age, but that didn't stop him from walking. However, Mr Tarling, the extremely fit market gardener who lived in a little cottage near the Free Church, stood with military bearing in his hobnail boots right into his eighties. They were all the kindest people you could hope to know.

By Sue Terry on Sat Apr 16th 2016, at 1:00 pm

Contact User

Report

From Bill Ambrose aged 100, lives in hoe lane still where he was born 1922 “they were all keen gardeners who used to take part in fetes / shows where you put it your best flowers / grown veg. Pip was once running the football team and wanted Bill to play football before he was released from the RAF. Pip moved away and bill thinks to Norfolk or Suffolk however never saw him again after that.

Ida’s father used to give Bill and his friends lessons in carpentry

By Roger Skedd on Wed Oct 12th 2022, at 8:53 pm

Contact User

Report