1950 Susan Simons
A Memory of Ashtead.
I was born in Ashtead in 1945, we lived at Read Road in Lower Ashtead. I have a vivid memory of the shops at the top of Read Road. From the newsagents, next was the off-licence, then Goldings grocery store, next was the chemist, next was a small cafe which we were never allowed to visit, don't know why. The next place was my favorite, the fish and chip place, where I worked for a while, then there were a couple of houses, then came a hairdressers, green grocer, another house a sweet shop owned by Percy Fares, next was a sewing shop, the butchers and another grocery store. We walked everywhere, sometimes biked. I loved the swimming pool, I worked there when I was 12. We fished in the Ashtead pond for newts and tadpoles. We explored the woods and the common. Every Saturday my mother and I would visit the Epsom Market, what a treat. Then we visited my grandmother who lived at Chase Road in Epsom. Ashtead was quiet, safe, pretty and a terrific place to live. At 15 I went to work for Staff Ingham a very famous racehorse trainer near Hedley, I learned so much about horses when I was there, we travelled all over England to various racetracks, it was a great learning experience. Since then I have lived in Australia, Canada and now the U.S, but if I had a choice I would move back to Ashtead. Susan Nash nee Simons
Add your comment
You must be signed-in to your Frith account to post a comment.
Add to Album
You must be signed in to save to an album
Sign inSparked a Memory for you?
If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?
Comments & Feedback
You have certainly covered some ground since those days. Did you spend your life around horses or what that just a brief interlude?
Regards, Brian Simmons
This is interesting. I remember the Simons family at Read Road. She had a sister called Pauline who I remember as a classmate at Barnett Wood Road Primary School back in the 50s. Did Susan get in touch with you?
Regards Susan Felton