THE COPYRIGHT TO THESE ARTICLES REMAINS WITH THE WRITERS AND/OR SWANLEY HISTORY GROUP AND SHOULD NOT BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT THEIR WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Photos courtesy of Keith Whitmore
EDITH ALLCHIN’S TRIP TO SWANLEY VILLAGE c 1905
When I was a very young girl my dad’s sister Frances Atkins lived in the country, a place called Swanley Village. She lived with her sick father Henry Atkins and was in local domestic service, she also took in washing and ironing for the gentry of the village to make ends meet. I lived in a busy town called Walthamstow, and was delighted when dad said he was going to hire a horse and trap to visit my aunt, we would also take my mum’s friend Mrs Sturt. I remember I couldn’t wait although it was many years ago.
Well, it had to be a Sunday as Dad had to work all other days as no one earned much money in those days and they did not get any other days off work. I think it was a Sunday in June which was chosen for us to go, we got up very early and it was a nice bright day. The sun was shining brightly as dad brought the horse and trap to the front door just as Mrs Sturt arrived. Mother had been very busy baking cakes and making sandwiches oh and pastry with cheese baked in it, all this was packed in a basket together with a bottle of tea, we had no flasks in those days. We had to climb into the trap from the rear and it was rather high up for me but dad helped us all in not forgetting the picnic basket, then he got up himself. Dad and Mum sat in the front as Dad had to drive the horse, Mrs Sturt and I sat in the back seat. We had our backs to Mum and Dad; can you picture what I mean? They could see where they were going and we could see where we had been, I thought it funny and couldn’t help giggling.
We drove through the suburbs of London until we came to the River Thames but we had to get to the other side. There was a ferry boat to take us across so we drove straight on and kept our seats in the trap. It was lovely being taken over the river like this, and when we got to the other side the ferry stopped and we drove off onto the quay to continue the second part of our journey to Swanley Village. We passed through some very pretty villages with little cottages and lovely gardens and down some leafy country lanes, passing fruit orchards with apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. The blossom on the fruit trees was beautiful and the scent from the flowers was lovely, I have always remembered this. We rested at a place called Bexleyheath sat on some shaded grass and had our picnic with a drink of now, luke warm tea. We stretched our legs a bit and I ran further into the long grass to pick some wild flowers for Auntie Fannie before we returned to the trap. We did not stop again until we reached Malthouse Cottage in Swanley Village, how pleased I was to see my auntie. Until dinner was ready I played in the meadow opposite auntie’s cottage with my two cousins Mabel and Olive Atkins who also lived in the village, I loved all the open fields and we could also see in the distance Vancouver House where auntie lived as a child, we ran down for a closer look.
After dinner my cousins and I went to Sunday school at St Paul’s, it’s very pretty there and auntie was caretaker there from 1901 to 1926 as was her mother before her therefore she knew many of the vicars, she and her brothers even sang in the choir when Rev. C J M Shaw was married at Penshurst. When we returned to the cottage we had an early tea as we had to prepare for the journey home, I forgot to say that Dad had also taken the horse to the meadow too and he really enjoyed the fresh grass. I was always very sorry to leave auntie and my cousins as I really loved it there and I would hide in the long grass just to stay a little longer.
We said our goodbye’s, all boarded the trap and waved goodbye to my auntie and cousins, I would not see them for sometime but next time I would travel in the comfort of a train. The journey home seemed quicker, dad took a different route and we went through Blackwall Tunnel, I didn’t like it much as it was quite dark apart from the gas lamps reflecting on the white tiled walls, it was also quite smelly and I didn’t like the thought of being under the river Thames for what seemed quite a long time.
NOTE:
Edith was to make many more trips to Swanley with her parents and also with husband Charles. Her father was later to have a fatal accident whilst working for L.M.S railway as a platelayer at Walthamstow. In 1917 he was working in thick fog with one of his workmates, they failed to hear a train on the line. Henry pushed his mate off the track but Henry received full impact and was killed, he was 60 years old. Edith would marry Charles Emms from Walthamstow and they had one daughter Beryl. Edith died in 1976 age 80. When her father died in 1925 age 87, Frances (Fannie Atkins) moved from Swanley to Herne Bay as housekeeper to two retired gentlemen, following this she moved to Churt in Surrey to live with her sister Mary and after that she moved back to Swanley to spend her remaining years with another niece. She died age 91 in 1963 and never married. In 1962 she was honoured in St Paul’s Church magazine for the tireless work that she and her brothers had carried out for the church. She had also been awarded the ‘Friendships Highway’ as an early member and worker for The Girls Friendly Society she had joined in 1887. Frances is interred at St Paul’s Swanley Village with her sister Eliza (my Grandmother) and many other relatives.
Edith Allchin was my great uncle’s daughter. From an original letter
Transcribed by Keith Whitmore November 2008. Copyright Keith Whitmore
Photos courtesy of Keith Whitmore
EDITH ALLCHIN’S TRIP TO SWANLEY VILLAGE c 1905
When I was a very young girl my dad’s sister Frances Atkins lived in the country, a place called Swanley Village. She lived with her sick father Henry Atkins and was in local domestic service, she also took in washing and ironing for the gentry of the village to make ends meet. I lived in a busy town called Walthamstow, and was delighted when dad said he was going to hire a horse and trap to visit my aunt, we would also take my mum’s friend Mrs Sturt. I remember I couldn’t wait although it was many years ago.
Well, it had to be a Sunday as Dad had to work all other days as no one earned much money in those days and they did not get any other days off work. I think it was a Sunday in June which was chosen for us to go, we got up very early and it was a nice bright day. The sun was shining brightly as dad brought the horse and trap to the front door just as Mrs Sturt arrived. Mother had been very busy baking cakes and making sandwiches oh and pastry with cheese baked in it, all this was packed in a basket together with a bottle of tea, we had no flasks in those days. We had to climb into the trap from the rear and it was rather high up for me but dad helped us all in not forgetting the picnic basket, then he got up himself. Dad and Mum sat in the front as Dad had to drive the horse, Mrs Sturt and I sat in the back seat. We had our backs to Mum and Dad; can you picture what I mean? They could see where they were going and we could see where we had been, I thought it funny and couldn’t help giggling.
We drove through the suburbs of London until we came to the River Thames but we had to get to the other side. There was a ferry boat to take us across so we drove straight on and kept our seats in the trap. It was lovely being taken over the river like this, and when we got to the other side the ferry stopped and we drove off onto the quay to continue the second part of our journey to Swanley Village. We passed through some very pretty villages with little cottages and lovely gardens and down some leafy country lanes, passing fruit orchards with apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. The blossom on the fruit trees was beautiful and the scent from the flowers was lovely, I have always remembered this. We rested at a place called Bexleyheath sat on some shaded grass and had our picnic with a drink of now, luke warm tea. We stretched our legs a bit and I ran further into the long grass to pick some wild flowers for Auntie Fannie before we returned to the trap. We did not stop again until we reached Malthouse Cottage in Swanley Village, how pleased I was to see my auntie. Until dinner was ready I played in the meadow opposite auntie’s cottage with my two cousins Mabel and Olive Atkins who also lived in the village, I loved all the open fields and we could also see in the distance Vancouver House where auntie lived as a child, we ran down for a closer look.
After dinner my cousins and I went to Sunday school at St Paul’s, it’s very pretty there and auntie was caretaker there from 1901 to 1926 as was her mother before her therefore she knew many of the vicars, she and her brothers even sang in the choir when Rev. C J M Shaw was married at Penshurst. When we returned to the cottage we had an early tea as we had to prepare for the journey home, I forgot to say that Dad had also taken the horse to the meadow too and he really enjoyed the fresh grass. I was always very sorry to leave auntie and my cousins as I really loved it there and I would hide in the long grass just to stay a little longer.
We said our goodbye’s, all boarded the trap and waved goodbye to my auntie and cousins, I would not see them for sometime but next time I would travel in the comfort of a train. The journey home seemed quicker, dad took a different route and we went through Blackwall Tunnel, I didn’t like it much as it was quite dark apart from the gas lamps reflecting on the white tiled walls, it was also quite smelly and I didn’t like the thought of being under the river Thames for what seemed quite a long time.
NOTE:
Edith was to make many more trips to Swanley with her parents and also with husband Charles. Her father was later to have a fatal accident whilst working for L.M.S railway as a platelayer at Walthamstow. In 1917 he was working in thick fog with one of his workmates, they failed to hear a train on the line. Henry pushed his mate off the track but Henry received full impact and was killed, he was 60 years old. Edith would marry Charles Emms from Walthamstow and they had one daughter Beryl. Edith died in 1976 age 80. When her father died in 1925 age 87, Frances (Fannie Atkins) moved from Swanley to Herne Bay as housekeeper to two retired gentlemen, following this she moved to Churt in Surrey to live with her sister Mary and after that she moved back to Swanley to spend her remaining years with another niece. She died age 91 in 1963 and never married. In 1962 she was honoured in St Paul’s Church magazine for the tireless work that she and her brothers had carried out for the church. She had also been awarded the ‘Friendships Highway’ as an early member and worker for The Girls Friendly Society she had joined in 1887. Frances is interred at St Paul’s Swanley Village with her sister Eliza (my Grandmother) and many other relatives.
Edith Allchin was my great uncle’s daughter. From an original letter
Transcribed by Keith Whitmore November 2008. Copyright Keith Whitmore