Tuesday, June 16, 2015

New Ash Green History

Website with some interesting reading and photos, all about the concept & development of New Ash Green by Span Kent. SPAN KENT

Friday, May 1, 2015

1937 map of the area

OS Map of the area, dated 1937, scale 1:25,000. I love old maps. It shows there was a Police Station on the left as you came into Fairseat from the Vigo turning. Trosley Towers was still standing but no Vigo Village of course. Also no New Ash Green. The Children's Holiday Home (now Wide Horizons Margaret McMillan House) on the A227 was there, so that has been around for a long time.

There is a big area of parkland around Pettings Court, so I'm thinking this was probably lost to agricultural land during WWII. Some of the old parkland trees remain in the grass fields as I often walk the footpaths which go over the old parkland. I would love to know when the parkland was broken up.

The Hope and Anchor up at Ash is listed as BH, which apparently stands for 'Beer House'. I'd never heard of a Beer House before, and didn't know what the difference was between that and a Pub so looked it up, found this on Wikipedia:
The Beerhouse Act enabled anyone to brew and sell beer on payment of a licence costing two guineas (£2.10 in decimal currency, not adjusted for inflation).

Click on the map and it will go much larger.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

New Hillread houses at Oakwood Farm, Fairseat

When I moved here Oakwood Farm produced eggs. I believe that the new laws changing the conditions of caged hens made it non viable for them to continue. It was once mooted that a light industrial unit be built there but this was vetoed so we have this new development of houses instead. I've not yet taken a look at the new homes in Fairseat, and am not sure if the road they are on is public, or if they are a private 'gated community' which seems to be popular these days.... Oh, and if you want to buy one, you need about 1 million quid, but be quick as the biggest one has already gone! 

Here is a bit of blurb from the Hillread website, plus some photos of them.

'A unique development of 8 barn style four and five bedroom brand new homes in the village of Fairseat, Kent. These individually designed homes are in a fantastic courtyard setting and all have lovely large gardens. The development has the benefit of being in a lovely rural location with the convenience of being within easy reach of major road and rail networks and just 25 miles from central London'


Farmhouse

Farmstead

Granary

Hayloft

Millhouse

New Barn

Stables



Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Demolished old house near Vigo turning.



This, doubtlessly once imposing, house stood at the point where Harvel Road and the main A227 Gravesend Road meet. It has now been demolished and rebuilt upon.

Vigo Inn customers 1952

Just found the picture below on the national Archives. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone recognised their relatives?
Picture found here


A little history on The Vigo Pub

Date Unknown
 

Licensee List
  • JEAL Jeremiah 1841 - Jan 1854 dec'd (also farmer age 80 in 1851)
  • MANLEY 1871-1901+ 
  • LIVERSAGE Robert William 1911+ (age 42 in 1911)
  • LEWIS George Charles 1913+ 
  • ATKINS Walter 1922+ 
  • ASHWELL Vernon Stuart 1938-39+ (age 48 in 1939) 
  • ASHWELL Lillian 1970 - 1982 (aged 81 in 1982)
  • ASHWELL Peter 1982 - ?
It looks like the Vigo Pub has closed once again (as of June 2014), but here below is a little history taken from their website. 

Allegedly there has been a pub on this site since 1471, and parts of the existing buildings are said to date from that time. First known as the Upper Drovers, but given its present name by a sailor returning from the 1702 Battle of Vigo Bay, when England & Holland fought Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession. The sailor used his share of the treasure, captured during the English victory under Admiral George Rooke, to purchase the inn.
In 1930 the pub was taken over by the Ashwell family. During the Second World War Mr & Mrs Ashwell were host to many of the servicemen from both the Wrotham pre officer cadet training camp (on the site of the present Vigo Village), and air force personnel from the Battle of Britain West Malling Air Station (now Kings Hill).
After the death of her husband Vernon in 1970, Mrs Lillian Ashwell ran the pub for many years herself. She was a formidable but very popular local character. She became the first lady president of a rugby club in England, when in 1968 some pub regulars formed Vigo RFC, whose first matches were held in the field at the back of the pub.
Although long since moved to their own ground at Swanswood Field, the memory of Lillian Ashwell is still held in high regard at the club.
Another game played at the pub is that of Dadlums. This is an old English game of table skittles, and the 1966 Watney Book of Pub Games lists the Vigo Inn as one of the few venues where the game was played. The pub still boasts one of the last remaining Dadlums tables in the country, thought to be over 150 years old. It is good to see the game is being revived, with a local team playing fortnightly matches on Sunday evenings.
At the time of her own death in 1982 aged 81, Lillian Ashwell had been working behind the bar for 52 years and was possibly the oldest working landlady in the UK. The Vigo Inn passed to Mrs Ashwell’s son & daughter in law, Peter & Peta. A few changes were made including an interior refurbishment, but the essential character of the place was not altered. It even became one of the first No Smoking pubs in Kent, before the Government’s UK wide ban was introduced.