At the dawn of the 20th Century the hand-written letter was King! The first commercially available typewriters were produced by Remington in the 1870s but were prohibitively expensive so were only found in large businesses. It is widely considered that the introduction of the typewriter opened-up the working world to women. Typing classes became popular in ...
Reference: WH0974
Hookers Almanack was the brainchild of Charles Hooker, printer and stationer. The first edition was produced in 1864, funded by those who advertised their trade or business within the directory, it offered a veritable who’s who of the district, listing all churches, meeting places and schools, and Companies such as the South Eastern and Chatham ...
Reference: WH0976
Edward VII died on Friday 6th May 1910 at Buckingham Palace in London. He was succeeded by George V who was proclaimed king around the country in the following week. The proclamation in Windsor took place on May 11th. In Westerham the proclamation took place beside the Queen Victoria Jubilee fountain on The Green on Tuesday May ...
Reference: WH0977
‘The Grange’ was a large estate which included The Paddock and all the land Churchill School now stands on, Fir Cottage at the bottom of the School drive, ‘Knipes Cottages’ next to today’s Castle Antiques, and the little row of cottages leading from them down London Road towards today’s Touchline Physiotherapy business. These were ‘Grange ...
Reference: WH0978
It is interesting to note that the Domestic Offices and Outbuildings had electric lighting installed. Common with many of the big Estate Houses The Grange had its own electricity generating plant some eight to ten years before the town gained access to electric lighting. The schedule identifies that the Grange house and gardens was let ...
Reference: WH0979
The white painted Post Office is instantly recognisable on London Road. Today the home of Moorenergy fitness centre, the building dates from 1912 when it was built as a dedicated Postal sorting office. On February 4th 1930 a new subscriber telephone exchange was opened on the first floor. The little Fire Engine hut can be seen on the left ...
Reference: WH0980
The International Stores was a popular grocery shop in Westerham between the Wars and beyond into the early 1970s when the group was absorbed by British American Tobacco and many outlets closed. It was sited in the left-hand side of what is currently ‘Ruach Kitchens’ in Market Square. June Heath remembers local shopping “…apart from Woods ...
Reference: WH0981
This advert speaks for itself and appeared in the Westerham Herald all through 1917… Before the need to supplement the world of work in all disciplines, the few women who had worked within retail, had been confined to millinery and haberdashery – even drapery and hairdressing had been part of the man’s working world. Certainly ...
Reference: WH0982
This poster appeared in the Westerham Herald in 1917. It was the start of what would become the Women’s Land Army, and many women found they preferred to work closer to home, in the fields and on the farms rather than having to travel to factories, laundries, brickyards etc,. all of which had previously been ...
Reference: WH0983
…also listed were the postal services, the Clubs and Societies and their officials…
Reference: WH0984
…Private Residents of the town and Commercial and Retail trades…
Reference: WH0985
…more retailers and trades…
Reference: WH0986
…the final retailers and trades, and the start of advertisements which funded the production of the Almanack. Also included in each edition was the ‘Epitome of Events’ for the year just completed, which was the only form of local news in brief until 1882 when Hooker launched the ‘Westerham Herald’ as a monthly newspaper. What a ...
Reference: WH0987
As can be seen from the timetable of June 1882 published in the then monthly Westerham Herald, shows there were no through-trains at that time. All passengers on the Westerham branch line wanting to pursue an onward journey to London or the south coast had to change trains at Dunton Green. A through train to ...
Reference: WH0988
Harriet and Thomas Newton pose outside number 9 The Green which was the Post and Telegraph Office until 1912, when a dedicated building was erected in what became ‘Post Office yard’ in London Rd (as of 2018 this building now houses Moorenergy fitness centre). The Newtons are seen with their postmen and telegram boys outside ...
Reference: WH0975
