Nostalgic memories of Laleham's local history
Share your own memories of Laleham and read what others have said
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.
Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.
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Displaying Memories 11 - 20 of 22 in total
I attended Laleham Abbey just for one year (1953 - coronation year). My surname then was Hebden. I was very shy and didn't make many friends. The one girl I do remember was an Australian whose surname was Snedden who I believe didn't go home for holidays. I also enjoyed the Corpus Christi celebration and also the time we were all given a bible to celebrate the coronation. Another special event was when we ...see more
As a family we used to go camping at Laleham every weekend, spring to autumn. This was from about 1950 until the mid 1960s. It was an amazing time, like most childhood memories. My nan and grandad were the Greenland family and they had their own tent. My two aunts both had tents, plus a cousin and my mum and dad and 4 kids. The riverside was much more open then and you could ride along the banks as we used to on the ...see more
I recognised several of the names mentioned by Clare. I was Tricia Heathcote then. Michele Tooth came to stay with me one holidays. Her parents were actors and she had a boxer dog named Tree. (Strange the things you remember!) There was also an Elizabeth who had some connection with Princess Marie Louise, and the head girl was Hazel Mary Wheatley. My best friend was an American girl, ...see more
My sister Catherine and I attended Laleham Abbey from 1947-1952. Sister Margaret Rose was the Head and Sister Catherine Mechtilde her Deputy. We were sent away to boarding school after various entrance exams to day schools. My mother had died in 1944 and my father remarried in 1945. It was a strange time. I was 10 - my sister (stepsister actually) was 11. We lived the life the nuns lived - feast days and ...see more
My memory of Laleham is of when my father would come and collect us for weekend visits, he would come and collect us on a Saturday, and take me and my brother to the caravan park where he lived at the time, now known as Penton Park, at the end of Mmixnams Lane. My grandad also lived there, Albert Stock. My brother and me used to walk across the golf course to get to the river, and a man would take us ...see more
I have a vague memory of attending Laleham Abbey convent/school. We seemed to move around quite a bit during these years. I think I might have been seven years old when I arrived at Laleham and have no idea how long I stayed. However, seeing my name, Catherine White, on the page, rather makes me believe I really was there! Sisters and how to write a letter correctly... chilblains and huddling around a huge boiler ...see more
I was at the school from 1945 to 1947. Names which spring to mind, on the spur of the moment, are Shirley Anne Blyth, Maitland Bond, Penelope Bovill, Hilary Cunningham, Anne Elliot, Faith Fabian, Jennifer Jeffries, Brigid Baverstock-Moran, Angela Pierce, Mary Riches, Sylvia Ryland, Britt Walker, Catherine White, Julia and Margaret Winterbottom, and Rowena (I still have the cards which she gave me on my birthday in ...see more
My sister Kathleen Taylor (former name) was cook in the kitchen for the retired old ladies. I was always staying with her during school holidays. Her husband then (now deceased) was Barry Taylor and they had two children, Sarah born 1966 and Michael, her younger (not sure of his age) brother, who went to the village school in Laleham. Barry was a sort of joint caretaker. Sister Flora Mary was in charge of Nazareth ...see more
Well a first visit to camp by the river and walk to the Lock and so on was really in 1962 with Guides, then a schoolfriend. Later my first 'serious' boyfriend and fiance came from there. I wonder if any of you recall not only the Abbey but the few (4) homes which were alongside the inner Abbey Road, facing across the River to St Anne's Hill. His family lived in one of those properties, next to the Vickers/Armstrong people. ...see more
I was at Laleham Abbey School from 1955-7 I remember the name Tania Morley. I think I may have been in her class. Sister Constancia was the head when I went there and Mother Sarah was Superior. She was succeeded by Mother Marie Louise. Sister Marianna was head when I left in 1957. It would be good to hear from other ex-puils, somewhere I have photos, including some of Corpus Christi processions. I have an old B&W school brochure.