Paxhill Farm

A Memory of Paxhill Park.

My Grandma and Granpa Burlong lived in the No 1 farm cottage which is next to where the milk churns used to be collected. Grandad worked the shire horses and was 83 yrs old when he retired having worked over 50 yrs at the farm. Not only did he work the fields with the horses but in the early days that was the only way to get produce to the markets etc. In his latter working years one of his main tasks was to layer the hedging round the fields and he was a master at doing this. I was born on the table in their living room because it was the very bad winter of 1947 and the ambulance could not get to Paxhill. In 1952 we moved into the new council estate at Scaynes Hill and had the luxury of central heating! Once old enough, about 7years, I would walk to Paxhill most weekends and help grandad with his lovely vegetable garden and chickens. Grandma would send me into the milking parlour next door to get a jug of fresh milk. Grandad and I would often go into the woods and make up bundles of twigs called Faggots for fire lighting and pea supports..
Grandma was always busy, either knitting or sewing, washing clothes in the steaming boiler or baking and cooking meals; mostly from the fresh garden produce.
Lovely days!
Alan Bennett