Grandparents Living At 1 Whites Hill

A Memory of Tilmanstone.

My Grandparents, Charlie and Frances Hawkins used to live at 1 Whites Hill in Tilmanstone, in the 60s and 70s. Back then it was a little white wooden house,a two up two down, with up and down wooden floors with a cellar that you got to via a cupboard under the stairs. The loo was out the back, spiders lurked there. The bath was a tin one that hung on the wall outside the back door. The front door I remember was never opened, the baker, the butcher and postman always came around the back. I could not reach the door handle of the back door so always had to go up two stairs to open it. The stairs were very steep and went up from the kitchen. My father built the garage in the back garden for my grandfather to store fruit and veg in, he used to have a mobile shop that he went around the local villages with. I can remember there was a lovely lady who lived oppersite called Mrs Cook who always smelt like lovely cakes. Her house was demolished about 10 years ago now. There was a man who had what seemed like a hundred chickens that used to roam around the village. I used to spend all my school holidays in the village, I have such lovely memories. The peacocks on the lawn of the big house on the way to Shepperdswell, the church with the stocks outside, popping to the post office for my Nana. I came for a trip down memory lane about 10 years ago, popped in the Plough and Harrow, some people actually remembered me from those days. Tilmanstone is one of my favourite memories growing up. I hope who ever lives in the house now is very happy. Thank you for letting me prattle on. Kind regards to all. Wendy Hawkins now in Rickmansworth

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