Originally land belonging to the Grange Estate, including ‘Firs Cottage’ seen on the left in the background, now at the eastern-end of where Rysted Lane meets South Bank, at the bottom of Churchill School drive. The Paddock was the site of football matches for both the Saturday team and Westerham Wednesday team for many years ...
Reference: WH1069
This photo-postcard shows the site of the toll-gate leading into Westerham from the east. The charge was 4 pence per horse – so if a wagon and four horses went through the toll was one shilling and fourpence but if they returned the same day they did not have to pay on the return journey. ...
Reference: WH1052
To the south of the town, at the top of Hosey Hill and shown here in the foreground could be found ‘Little Squerryes Guest, Luncheon and Tea House’. In the late 1920s this gentle-paced establishment run by Miss Bowles, offered an overnight stay if required and a chance to linger and enjoy a walk on ...
Reference: WH1054
A quiet corner of Westerham that has not seen a lot of change since this photograph was taken in the mid-1930s. There were, however, fewer cars around at that time, so Lodge Lane seems less cluttered than it does today.
Reference: WH1056
This view looking north down the London Road was taken circa 1912 and shows, on the right, the white-painted Corn Store on the corner of Madan Road. In the foreground three Victorian houses are ‘Haldon’ ‘Providence Villa’ and ‘Dettingen’ and beyond the Corn Store, the large house is ‘Fairlight’. This section of London Road was ...
Reference: WH1058
The building just in frame on the left that houses today’s (2018) ‘Touchline Physio’ was in the early 1900s the site of Stanley Vaus’ plumbing, painting and decorating business. The advertising hoarding erected next door on vacant land promotes ‘Cannock Chase Coal’ for sale by Benjamin Horton from his coal and timber yard to be ...
Reference: WH1059
A view from circa 1902 shows the houses built on the north side of Madan Road. Two different builders were responsible for this development, one being Thomas H. Weller and the other being Joseph Wintle, who had his builders yard in Madan Road and, like Weller, retained ownership and rented out several of the houses ...
Reference: WH1060
This view up the track from Elm View Mill dates to around 1900. The two mill cottages on the right were then occupied by William Sage, the mill attendant at what had become the waterworks pumping station, and James Perrin, a local policeman. The house beyond was then known as ‘Roselyn’ but is now (2018) ...
Reference: WH1061
Goodbye to the Nurseries Bob Combley “…in South Bank there were no houses on the left side there, just the little stream. That area was completely empty – we used to play in there and you could see there had been rows of shrubs and rows of bushes – we always called it ‘Newtons’ and I was ...
Reference: WH1062
This photograph taken from Thomas Weller’s builders yard in 1902 shows bunting strung across the road to celebrate the Coronation of Edward VII. The photograph is probably attributable to Weller’s neighbour, Frederick Benson.
Reference: WH1053
While Park Cottages look pretty much the same today as they did in this 1902 photo-postcard, the estate fencing has gone and so has the lamp post – imagine if that was still there at what is today a busy and somewhat blind junction, not helped by overgrowth of hedges on both sides of the ...
Reference: WH1063
Unmistakeable in the background of this photograph is the white-painted Pitt’s Cottage. Moving towards the camera we have Great Moreton, which in 1900 was all one house and was occupied by the family of the Reverend Carr G. Acworth, Clerk in Holy Orders. In the foreground of the shot is Park View, so named because ...
Reference: WH1064
The top building on the left of Vicarage Hill is Colthurst Almshouses. The gap beyond led to ‘Church Alley’ – undeniably the towns’ poorest housing area – tiny back-to-back cottages with few windows, and towards the end, corrugated tin roofs on some of them. The next row of cottages bordering the road were ‘Red Cottages’. ...
Reference: WH1065
Between the wars there were two shops either end of Quebec Cottages at the bottom of Vicarage Hill. The one nearest the camera was ‘Quebec Stores’ a little gloomy general store and tobacconist. The other was William Dove’s pork butcher’s shop where the meat would hang outside, backed by the whitewashed wall.
Reference: WH1066
This photograph shows Currant Hill Cottage in the foreground with Richard Durtnell’s ‘Jubilee Terrace’ beyond. At that time there was no development on the south side of the road where the river ran. With that in mind, it always seems a little odd that the road was not called ‘Northbank’. As one of the promoters of ...
Reference: WH1067
Ellen King enjoys the sunshine with her daughters Eva and Ethel outside ‘The Cottage’ next door to ‘Roseville’ in the High Street. All the houses on this section of the High Street were owned by the Black Eagle Brewery in the early 1900s.
Reference: WH1055
Photographs of the actual farmhouse at Delegarde are fairly rare and this is the only one we know of with children in the shot. The other thing you almost never see is that the Oast House has a ‘cowl and cap’ on it as in this photograph. Of the number of shots that exist of ...
Reference: WH1050
This was local builder Thomas Weller’s ‘showcase terrace’ built between 1897 and 1902 as a development of five pairs of houses in very different design and layout. How better to demonstrate the versatility of your work to prospective clients… On the left of frame the hedge that bordered Farley Nursery site. This was to be the ...
Reference: 0032