128 Northdown Road Cliftonville Revisited

In 1957 John Wilson and family moved to Cliftonville from Birchington to a much needed larger home and a new business for the whole family.

The photos, taken in August 2018 by Guy WIlson show some features of the building and it’s interior 

Photo 01 – Wilson Family Home

We moved to the shop in Michaelmas 1957. It was quite a wrench leaving the farm; but a matter of necessity to fulfil the requirements of living accommodation for a growing family and a more reliable source of income than a significantly reduced farm at Birchington. This photo was taken in 1958 as Rachel, in the photo is about eight years old and the whole from canopy had been replaced by then. Parked in front is the Ford donkey (van) that for many years was our means of transport near and far.

The stands shown, were later replaced by long trolleys on wheels that could be moved into the shop at night without being dismantled.

Next door to the right became a fishmongers shop owned by Jesse Skinner and his right-hand man, Felix, who lived above the shop with his wife. Next to this was a second-hand furniture shop run by the Holdie family with some amazing tales to be told.

Photo 02 – East Cliff Hotel

On the left hand side was the East End Hotel (see Photo 12), a public house owned by the brewery. On a weekly basis there was a delivery of wooden barrels of beer from Maidstone, which were dumped from the truck onto hessian mats and then rolled down the hatch into the cellar.

The remaining Photos are all taken from the rear of the property and described here.

Photo 03 – Laundry / Bathroom

When we arrived, the yard in the foreground was completely full of empty boxes loaned by various farmers and wholesalers each bearing a deposit. There was no room to move. There was also a small strip of garden similar covered with boxes. Over time these were all returned to their rightful owners and space cleared to be a working environment.

In the corner of the garden closest to the garage, we mounted a tall pole, with a hook, and had a hook made to screen on the windows shown to carry a rope pulley that served as a washing line. This was loads from the bathroom window.

Photo 04 – Back Door and Yard

This was the entry to a very small kitchen where all our meal preparation took place. It had a small bench, cooker, and sink with hot water supply and some filled cupboards. (No fridge). Adjacent to this was the dining room where most of our family meals were held. Small table and folding chairs to minimise the space requirements.

Photo 05 / 06 – Side Yard and Kitchen Windows

This was working space which was totally covered with a broken down wooden framed glass house. Activities included preparation of vegetables, chopping kindling wood, cooking beetroot in a gas copper, and so much more… to be sold in the shop.

The wooden structure was subsequently removed, as un-safe, and replaced by a new Aluminium Glazing bars supplied by SAV Warner, a manufacturer friend from Croydon, and paid for by a close friend, Marjorie Groundwater(nee Dale) who were frequent visitors to all of our homes. It was truly a useful working space. The lower window, now a doorway, leads into the shop. In our day, the shop was split into two parts, the sales area and the office behind. (It is now a single space).

Photo 07 – Stairs and Cellar

The Stairs connected all levels of the property of which there are five:

The Cellar

The cellar was accessed via wooden steps beneath the main stair case shown in the Photo. There were three parts:

• The Coal hole with access from a grating in the street for use of the coal merchant. At the seaward end a thick wall of concrete that was supposedly a blocked off tunnel to the sea (in the past used by smugglers to bring contraband to the shop)
• The main area accessed also by a grating in the street that most likely was used historically for sending suppliers to the cellar (as next door in the Public House). This area also contained a freezer, containing Frozen Vegetables, and all the floor space completely taken up with cases of canned Beans, Peas, Mixed Veg, and carrots. These were supplied from the cannery in Faversham at knock down prices in season.
• Another area accessed through a rough hole in the wall under the office also filled with these cartons.

Over the months after our arrival, all this excess stock was sold off and not replaced. Rather, because the cellar floor (concrete) was cool at night, we would spread lettuce, cabbage, and other green produce across the floor and sprinkle with water to rehashes up for the following days sale.

Where storage was required, wooden orange and apple boxes were used all around the walls. In those days oranges and apples came from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa packed in wooden crates and individually wrapped in tissue papers.

The Shop

The Shop consisted of the street canopy area, shop area, and a back office. On the left hand side was a window that opened and used as a Floristry area. Mum learnt the floristry trade under the tutelage of a Florist in Westgate (Mrs Freak), who was a cockney and thrived on the hustle and bustle of the London flower markets from which she purchased stock by personal visits (sometimes with Mum) in the early hours of the morning. We were members of an international floristry group through which we obtained orders for funerals and weddings from people in other parts of the world.

The rest of the shop was devoted to Fruit and Vegetables (mainly displayed and sold from the street displays, and a variety of groceries and frozen foods. Part of the furniture was a hand operated cash register (nick-named “the jewish piano”).  Saturday morning was the busiest time and I remember following customers round the shop selecting goods and mentally  adding the prices together and immediately providing the total on conclusion. (this was in pounds, shillings, pence and farthings) – No calculators)

The back office was the admin hub where telephone orders were taken  

Photos 08 – – 12 The Living Space

 The downstairs dining room (well kitchen) was very small and not suitable whenever we had guests (which was frequent).  The main The window above is on the second floor, and was the main bedroom used by our parents (John and Muriel). The window above (the third floor) was used by Kenneth and frequently vacated by him with the arrival of guests for the weekend (and sometimes for weeks on end). In the from to the top floor were two other bedrooms occupied by Rachel, and Guy and Nicholas (and Ken when out of his own room).

On Friday, 17 August 2018, 22:12:27 BST, Guy R Wilson <guy@guyrwilson.com> wrote:

 

 

128 was our home from 1957 to 1967

Julia, David, Rachel, Margaret and I visited the property which is undergoing renovation.

The garage was full of old timber.

I didn’t go into the cellar.

The little toilet was empty and the WC is now in the bathroom.

The lean-to at the rear has gone.

The glasshouse that Mr and Mrs Groundwater paid for is no longer there.  Mrs Groundwater was a great friend of our mother.  I can’t remember her maiden name.  What was it Kenneth?  Marjory Something?

 

My mind went back to Mrs Grant and the cockney woman who stole money from the till.  The lady from Wilderness Hill with the rather jolly disabled husband –  Mrs what was her name?  Single syllable.

 

Then there was Mr Steve Allen the prisoner of War in a Japanese concentration camp with his wife who worked in the shop with Ethel Abraham.

 

Trip down memory lane!!

 

Guy

 

Hi Guy

 

Thanks for the photos of 128. Just what I need for our story. The names you are missing are artillery who was a hugenot. We also had Sheila and Renee Holiday both of whom were land army girls on the farm. Sheila was at Dad’s memorial service and came back with us afterwards. I think she has since then died.

 

Steve Allen came with us from the farm where his main occupation was hoeing. He was an expert at that. He kept a stash of comics Beano and Dandy in a cupboard in the garage for us to secretly read.

 

There was also Ron Hazelton at the shop whom we inherited from Jenkins the previous owner. Ron was a bus driver with East Kent Road Car Company. He drove the van and chopped kindling wood. One day, when I was learning to drive he got out of the driver’s seat to be greeted with an uproar of laughter from a passing bus the driver of which had spotted the L plates on the van.

He later took on the contract of driving every day from Thanet to Dungeness power station taking construction workers. He would start the run outside our house in upper Dane road at 5.30am.

One Sunday morning in in late 60s we set off to The 6am meeting. We were late so he gave us a lift in the bus to the corner of Dane Park.

 

I am on the train just now going to a training meeting for Cursillo retreat weekend in October. Lookup Cursillo Perth for more information.

 

Keep the memories coming with photos. I am really looking for these as part of my website story.

 

www.kenandannejourney.com

 

 

Love you all

 

Blessing and Peace 

 

 

Ken Wilson tssf

 

On 18 Aug 2018, at 20:45, Rachel Samways <rmsamways@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hello Guy

I’ve only just looked at the photos – how odd to see it all again! Is the whole pub being refurbished and the accommodation too?

Rachel

We only went into 128 so I am not sure.

I think 130 and 132 are now private houses not a pub.

Everything has changed.

The back room with the fire behind the shop has been included in the shop area with the wall being removed and the doorframe.

No changes to any rooms except the toilet and bathroom.

There is central heating now with radiators all over the place.

No Courtier stove in the lounge.

There was a fireplace in the kitchen which I did not remember.

No glasshouse with leaks.

No bath full of lettuce.

No copper boiling up the beetroot.

Xx