The history portal for Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England
A light hearted recollection of Police training and the early days at Shoreham
A year or two after getting married and moving to Shoreham I hankered after doing something more exciting with my working life and thought of joining the Police. I imagined myself drawing admiring glances from the ladies as I strode impressively along the High Street in smart uniform and polished boots and applied for the West Sussex Police (at that time East and West Sussex were separate forces).
WRITTEN BY GERRY WHITE
Our terraced house with three bedrooms, was in Connaught Avenue built in 1936, it had modern conveniences, for those days, with Electricity, gas , an Ideal Boiler for heating water, and a fireplace in every room, apart that is, from the small bedroom at the front of the house. My mother did the weekly wash in a Copper gas heated boiler, which had a wringer mounted above it. Most importantly there was a bathroom, with flush toilet,bath, and wash basin. The style was Art Deco with period tiled fire places, and stained glass designs either side of the front door. There was a service road to the rear of the house enabling coal deliveries, and the Dustbins to be emptied. In 1948 the gardens had been restored to the prewar condition , with a lawn in the front garden and the rear planted for vegetables.
WRITTEN BY ANDY RAMUS
Living on Shoreham Beach as a child, you kinda felt like you owned the world sometimes, stood on the beach where all that changed was the position of the shingle, sometimes banked right up so high that it near buried the old wooden breakwaters, and then other days the sea would pull the shingle back so far as to expose, what then as a child, seemed like mighty tree turrets, or Queens Guards all neatly lined up.
A rare, original programme recording the competitors and events of the 1923 carnival. This small booklet measuring 4 inches by 5 inches and printed by Pope & Beesley of Middle Street reveals that from start to finish the carnival ran for a considerable nine hours but, surprisingly, on a Wednesday and not during a weekend. The story and photos of Shoreham’s regattas and carnivals, particularly the 1924 and 1926 events and the man that organized them are already included in the article ‘William Edward Winton – Regattas and Postcards.’ That article describes some of the boat races including the shovel and dog swimming events – this programme reveals a few more such as one-oar races, milk churn trundling, participation by the town’s fire brigade and even a list of the illuminated boats.
Continue reading “Venetian Water Carnival Programme 1923”
Along the Beach at Bungalow Town.
Ever wondered where those bungalows pictured in Shoreham’s old postcards were? Relive the view our predecessors saw and even meet them by joining our celebrated Shoreham Time Walks. See those wooden structures as they once were, some little more than simple wood and corrugated iron shacks, others extravagant and imaginative in design. Those wishing to participate should present themselves promptly at 1pm at the east end of Widewater on Saturday 10th August in any year between 1900 and 1920………………………. Continue reading “Along the Beach at Bungalow Town”
Railway Carriages as Houses.
A 1910 article and photographs from ‘The Harmsworth Magazine’ recording the origin and construction of dwellings and subsequent development of Shoreham by Sea’s amazing Bungalow Town. (donated by the Shorehambysea.com History website) Continue reading “Railway Carriages as Houses”
A rare and fascinating relic of Shoreham’s commercial past is this 1908 receipt book provided by Henry Ayling & Sons for their customers. Aylings were family grocers, drapers and furnishers at 54/56 High Street on the western corner with John Street.
Continue reading “Ayling Stores Order Book”
The Blockade (or “Preventative”) Service was created in 1817 following the country’s huge loss of revenue due to what was then considered by some to be a lack of success by the Customs and Revenue Services in coping with the smuggling problem. It is perhaps unfair to lay the blame for this entirely upon them as, amongst other things, we know that manpower was short compared with the smuggling gangs they came up against; pay was poor and even the ships they used were invariably slower and less well armed than the smugglers’ own vessels. Continue reading “Blockade Coastguard Station”
The early 19 th century letters of a Shoreham Resident
Contents
Page 1 – 2 Introduction
Page 3 – 4 Letter A (transcript)
Page 4 Letter B ( .. )
Page 5 Letter C ( .. )
Page 5 – 6 Letter D ( .. )
Page 6 – 7 Letter E ( .. )
Page 7 – 9 Letter F ( .. )
Page 9 – 10 Letter G ( .. )
Page 10 – 12 Notes H ( .. )
The Original Papers
Page 13 Front cover, inside front cover and first page (letter A)
Page 14 Second and third pages (letter A continued)
Fourth and fifth pages (letter A concluded and start of letter B)
Page 15 Sixth and seventh pages (letter B concluded and start of letter C)
Eighth and ninth pages (letter C concluded and start of letter D)
Page 16 Tenth and eleventh pages (letter D continued)
Twelfth and thirteenth pages (letter D concluded ad start of letter E)
Page 17 Fourteenth and fifteenth pages (letter E concluded and start of letter F)
Sixteenth and seventeenth pages (letter F continued)
Page 18 Eighteenth and nineteenth pages (letter F continued)
Twentieth and twentyfirst pages (letter F concluded and start of letter G)
Page 19 Twentysecond and twentythird pages (letter G concluded and notes H)
A Small Book of Letters and Notes by William Butler (circa 1816)
This beautifully written book (not much more than a few pages eight and a half by six inches sewn together ) discovered recently under the floor boards during renovations at No.22, Church Street transpire to be the writings of William Butler whilst serving on board the Revenue Cutter ‘The Hound’. The Butler family of that time is vividly described in detail by Maria Butler in her history of that family shortly before her tragic death at 27 in 1857.There were possibly more than two William Butlers from Shoreham living at this time but the most likely candidates were baptised in 1760 and 1795. The former, who would have been 56 at the time, is not seriously considered to be a candidate for the author of these writings (A) in view of the author’s exploits which will be revealed later (although it could have been possible), and (B) because he is not mentioned at all by Maria in her notes. Furthermore, since his baptism, this older William does not appear again in the parish records, even for burial, so it is assumed that he had moved away and died elsewhere.
Preface
This was a care home administered by East Sussex County Council although paradoxically it was in West Sussex. When I was born in 1948 in Southlands Hospital, my parents were Assistant Superintendent and Matron. The home cared for children whose own natural parents were unable for various reasons to care for the children themselves. It was not an orphanage nor a “naughty boys and girls home”. Some of the children were orphaned of one or both parents; most were from homes in which the parents felt unable to cope for many reasons.
