East Hill Estate Wandsworth

A Memory of Wandsworth.

Lived on the Estate up until it was demolished, we were then moved to Wimbledon.
7, Lowestoft House was our address, Lowestoft was at the bottom of the Estate near the railway. Went to St John's primary school in Usk Road ( long since demolished ). Remember in the winter the ice on the inside of the windows, and freezing cold clothes to put on in the morning. The flats all had a yard, and the kids used to play cricket and football for what then seemed hours, all this between the washing that had been put out, many a broken window, but no one seemed to complain. The Booths Gin factory was just across the river, when the wind blew towards the flats from there the smell was very distinctive. One coal fire in the front room was the only heating, was never lit in the morning, but when you got home on a winters evening it was ablaze - luxury. A few problem families on the Estate but the majority were great, local policeman had bright ginger hair/beard and he carried a clip board - you stayed well out of his way, many a kid got a clonk from that board, common assult they would call it today but you never did it again. Great memories - Clapham Junction on a Saturday, football on the common, bonfire night down at the railway embankment, but would not like to return to those hard days.


Added 19 November 2012

#239028

Comments & Feedback

Hi. I lived in Huntsmoor Rd. I also went to St Johns school in Usk Rd.I can remember a few teachers Mrs Potter. Mrs Kelly. Mr Ching. there was also a Miss Lunt. I left St Johns in 1960.
eric here i was brought up on the east hill estate and went to st faiths sch and i am looking for pictures of that
Hi. I went to St Faith's too and lived in Ballantine Street. Very cold old house with one cold tap and no bathroom.The house is still there and was gentrified years ago. Very hard days compared to today. I left St Faiths in 1965 and remember teachers such as Mrs Broomhead.
Julie Turner Hi I lived in Lowestoft house 2nd flat on the ground floor from 1965 until 1971 I think and went to eltringham school. Does anyone remember the kit kat man. Names I remember Steve morgen, mark morgen, Kevin & Peter pye ,Dawn Fuller big Irish family called the Blancs. I remember the Blanc boys coming in the square and a big fight broke out between them and a West Indian family who lived up stairs called the wilsons. But we did have amazing time growing up there. I remember Mrs West at school Scottish lady, my Nan once hit her over the head for being rude to my brother.
i lived on East Hil Estate From 1964 until 74 and Then they started Demolishing it My Family Lived At 89 Peterhead House The Flat Was Freezing Like The Guy Above Said There Was No Heating Except For The Coal Fire In The Front Room Which We Used To Take Baths In Front Of In A Old Tin Bath There Was Also A Bath In The Kitchen Hidden Under A Wooden Work Top We Used That In The Summer I Remember There Used To Be A Lot Of Black Outs and we Had To Use Candles For Some Reason My Older Brother Graham Thought It Would Be A Good Idea To Take A Lit Candle Under Our Big Bed And The Mattress Caught Fire Lucky Mum Managed To Put It Out With Buckets Of Water I Went To Joseph Tritton Primary School Which Has Now Closed I Think It's Been Turned Into Flats I Remember Playing In The Derelict Sites On Usk Road Under The Bridge And Seeing Rats As Big As Cats I Also Remember Them Turning One Of The Sites Into A Adventure Play Ground I Remember The Little Sweet Shop On Usk Road Near The Pub And Fred's Shop A Small Grocers Shop We Used To Go To The Granarda Cinema On Saturday Mornings There Used To Be A Man That Came Up From Under The Stage And He Played A Organ we used to go to the play area near Bollingbrooke Hospital and my brother Stephen Was On one of the climbing frames that moves and he fell of and broke his collar bone He had to have it strapped up for Quite some time I Remember The Wheeler Family Terry And Perry And MIickey /The Wilsons Judith /Colin And Their Nan I Had a Friend Called Rita Hull She Had A Older Sister Rita Went To The Same School As Me They Lived In The Block Oppisite I also Had a Friend Joanne O'Rielly /Bridgette Nougher Who Lived On The Estate Also Tracey King Her Mum Had A Shop On St John Hill I Remember The Toffee Apple Man That Used To Come Round The Estate On A Bike With A Big Box On The Front That He Kept The Toffee Apples In I Remember A Lady Called Gloria She Was With A Tall Jamaican Guy They Had Two Boys The Eldest Was Ricky Not Sure Of The Younger Boy Gloria Was Friends With My Mum They Moved To Surrey Lane Estate Even Though Things Were Hard And We Had Very Little We Were All Happy And Everybody Got On And Helped One Another(Happy Times )We Also Spent A Lot Of Time In Battersea Park Funfair /The Zoo /Easter Parades The Fountains And Adventure Play Area

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