I started at the school in 1944, shortly after the Allied invasion of German-occupied France. The school buildings were centred in Pond Road, and covered the whole block, that is to say, the area of the present community centre, citizens’ advice bureau and car park. The school had its own chapel, with pews, choir stall and organ, on the opposite side of Pond Road, about where the grass mound in front of the health centre is now. The large house facing you as you look south down Pond Road is called Westover, and provided residential accommodation for single masters and a room for piano tuition.
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.
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”
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.
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.
St. Wilfrid’s Children’s Home, Ham Road, Shoreham by Sea
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.
Stanley Howard Winton 1881 – 1964 and Lancing’s Golden Sands
Stanley Winton aged 14
Fourth son of William and Emma Winton, Stanley was nicknamed ‘Bull’ by the Winton family – perhaps because he was ‘bullish’ in nature as his physical build never seemed to match this description. Like his brother Norman, Stanley doesn’t seem to have been involved in learning his father’s printing trade as in 1907 he is shown on a joint Winton family advertisement as a ‘Sanitary and Gas Engineer’ – he was still living with his mother and father in Shoreham at that time so the family business was beginning to diversify even more.
Stanley (left) with family friend Billy Reading (centre) and brother in law Robert Hall in the backyard of his parent’s house in Church Street, Shoreham c.1912
In 1911 he appears in the census as a builders’ merchant, progressed and shortly before WW1 purchased one of the last lorries available before WW1 government permits were required. His company hauled loads from the capital to destinations in the southern counties and eventually grew to a fleet of 17 trucks specialising in long loads up to as much as 85 feet.
Stan’s steadily improving financial situation enabled him to purchase a grand Renault car seen here when visiting relatives in John Street, Shoreham.
Stanley (extreme right) treats his employees to lunch in Bungalow Town, Shoreham
It seems he also had an eye for other opportunities as a Daily Express report during the 1920’s revealed. The Thames Conservators were at that time considering various schemes to prevent flooding along the river’s course in the capital and Stanley proposed opening up parts of London near the Thames to absorb the river’s waters during times when flooding threatened. It was not adopted but is a solution that in these days of rising sea levels is now being given more credence.
As a successful and obviously hardworking businessman forty-year old Stanley perhaps found little time for a social life or just had not considered marriage but, whilst in the capital, he finally met and married Geraldine Spence at St. George’s church, Hanover Square in 1923. Whether or not he ‘worked hard and played hard’ in the past he certainly ‘played’ more since marrying Geraldine as the family photos increasingly show.
Stanley and Geraldine are in the car on left at an unknown venue in the 1920’s
By the time of this photo (in Devon) the couple had upgraded to an impressive 1924 Rolls Royce Landaulette and an Eccles mini-caravan.
The Winton brothers and sisters were a close family and even seemed to spend some of their holidays together. Certainly Stan’s nephew Geoff accompanied him and Geraldine as the following images show and other contemporary photos from the related Hedgecock and Spence family collections suggest that in 1930 they all made their own way down to meet up at the holiday venue.
Superb period shots of the Wintons on holiday in Cornwall 1930. In the lower picture with their later caravan (another Eccles model) are Geraldine, Stanley and their nephew Geoff Winton (Geoff and his brother Hubert were ultimately to be taken on by Stan to help run his business).
Thereafter business continued to prosper and his improving fortunes led to him purchasing land at Lancing, just a mile or so from his parents’ house in Shoreham. The grounds are approached by a drive that rises to the entrance above the Lancing/Shoreham seafront road and here Stanley built for himself the imposing house that stands there now.
Either he was a genuine ‘buy British’ only man or perhaps he was seeking publicity for his business as when he first erected this building (he named it ‘Brinecourt’) it received the attention of the local press. During the building of it Stanley had turned away deliveries of the building materials because the delivery lorry was not British or the materials were manufactured abroad. In the end he got his way (and publicity), the suppliers changed their fleet of lorries and the replacement materials were British made.
A later photograph showing Stanley in an Austin car behind the Lancing house – the balconies still remain.
Top:- The area behind the house before the carriages were brought in. Below:- The same view with the easternmost Pullman carriages
The land at Lancing was considerable and faced directly on to the beach – the local holiday camp was nearby as was a railway carriage works and perhaps these gave Stanley his idea to purchase the land in the first place. He installed a number of redundant Pullman railway carriages that he had purchased which were put together with their own entrance porches built on then fitted out with bedrooms and living quarters to create his new holiday venue. The nearby holiday camp only provided basic accommodation, mainly in tents – by comparison the carriages were luxurious. Although the carriages have long gone the area is still in similar use today and we know it now as the Golden Sands Caravan Park.
Looking south-west. An interesting contrast of summer and winter.
Looking north-east from the beach. New Salts Farm can just be made out in the centre-left distance.
A visit from Stan’s sister Myrtle (left), Sam Maple’s wife May, Sam his nephew and Myrtle’s husband Sam Foster.
The London haulage company’s depot was in the Docklands area at Bermondsey and during the Second World War inevitably received damage during the intense blitzes of 1941 that destroyed many of his vehicles. His resourcefulness however not only enabled him to locate and purchase replacement vehicles to save the business, not an easy task in wartime, but also gave him the opportunity to secure new contracts at a crucial stage of the war.
A post-war advertisement announcing the company’s return to their Dockland premises.
Stanley and Geraldine (Gerry to the Wintons) were never to have their own children but Stanley was very loyal to his siblings and their offspring. Besides employing his brother’s two sons at his haulage company he was also later to provide accommodation for some of the older members of the Winton family (i.e., his sister Pansy and sister in law Mary) in their retirement at the other houses at his Lancing site.
Stanley had worked hard and deservedly earned a good life enjoying his own yacht, his Lancing property, the haulage business and a second grand house in Henley on the Thames. Sadly his later years brought with them some controversy within the Winton family. It was at Lancing that his wife Gerry died in 1959. He, it would appear, remarried in Brighton to Mildred M. Lob just a few months later the same year and subsequently died in 1964 at the good age of 81. He left his entire estate to his second wife, an action that led to much resentment and ill feeling amongst the remaining Wintons.
Roger Bateman
Shoreham, September 2012
With grateful thanks to Jon Spence for his permission to include the majority of the photos in this article. Jon has much more to see at:-http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonspence/
