Peoples Stories - Bevendean History Project
Esme White remembers Bevendean part 2
When we were first
in Plymouth Avenue the prefabs were still there when it was frosty you could
look out and see the white roofs that told you what the weather was going to be
like. I can remember the 1987 storm as well; when we woke up to the noise and
the trees crashing down. When we looked out of our window 2 trees were down at
the back but luckily for us they blew down towards the doctor’s garden, we had
a couple branches land on the greenhouse which didn’t do it much good. If the
trees had come the other way they were so big they would have damaged our roof.
Thinking about local facilities originally the Doctors surgery wasn’t in Heath Hill Avenue. When we first came to the estate, the surgery was up by Partridge house in Leybourne Road. The doctor used Ken Chapman’s vestry during the week until she could get the house in Leybourne road then she had her surgery built in Heath Hill Avenue. We used to get off the bus by the post box in Heath Hill Avenue and walk up the bank because there was no house there at first, but when the surgery was built we had to go round.
Originally we used to attend St Andrews church but after Jacqueline was born we went to the church here. For the doctors I used the surgery at the bottom of the Avenue but when Jacqueline was born I moved to Dr Roberts whose surgery had been built by that time in Heath Hill Avenue. There was the child welfare clinic, I can’t remember where they had it, but I think it might have been the school. Apart from that there wasn’t anything else much going on those days.
There were no community events during war time because there was nobody living in Bevendean apart from Upper and Lower Bevendean Avenues. We used to have holidays at home, I can remember going to the Wild Park. I don’t remember anything particular happening, for the Coronation I don’t think there were any street parties here. We went with my mother and father to the Gaiety Cinema all day long and watched the Coronation there. They had a sort of giant television screen and we took our lunch with us, which was quite interesting when you think about it because we didn’t have a television then. That was obviously before I was married. There used to be bonfires down on the green but I can’t remember who organised them it was before the time of Becca. There were fireworks and bonfires then.
I think we had a street party for the silver jubilee and of course there were church fetes and things and bazaars. The school used to put on a Christmas play, we used to go and see that. Mostly those were the sort of things I went to.
I was in the guides but that was at St Andrews not Lower Bevendean. My daughter was in the Brownies and then in the guides at Lower Bevendean, she became Queen’s guide. They held their meetings in the Scout hut. Jacqueline went to the Sunday school my sister-in-law used to run. So there was all the things connected with that also she did dancing. I didn’t really have any hobbies. More a question of taking my daughter around and doing things with her. I don’t think there was as much here then as there is now for the children.
There was the White Admiral Pub but I think I only went in there once although possibly we went and sang Christmas carols there. I was never much of a pub person but it was sad they had to close it down, it seems an awful shame and now they have put monstrosities of flats in its place.
I worked for Harman’s on the Bevendean estate although I think the firm was started in Kemptown but I don’t know really know. They moved here about 1962 or 1963 and the firm was originally run by 2 brothers. I know that with the bombing of the Grand Hotel the manager got called out in the middle of the night to find props and things to go down there. Before I worked for them a Canada Dry lorry overturned on the green and Harman’s were called to provide skips to put all the glass in. I don’t think they were very popular with people for their heavy cranes and lorries coming up Heath Hill Avenue. It built up to be quite a big firm at one point but I don’t think they are as busy now. They used to have a number of shops in the town and in the county; I don’t think there was much connection locally with the estate.
Travel in and out of the estate was originally by bus, you could get to the town very quickly and we used to come home at lunchtime. I had an hour and half for lunch so I could get home cook something and get back. In those days the buses went both ways round the estate and they were pretty full but I can’t remember how frequent the service was. I think it was about every 10 or 12 minutes. I learned to drive in 1961 but we didn’t have a car, my father-in-law had a car but I didn’t drive very often, it was buses or walk. When the baby was small I would put her in the pram and push it down to London Road but I still carried on using the buses as well and used the car for a big shop. If the weather was bad the buses would go up through the middle of the estate and not use Norwich Drive. Now it seems at the first sight of snow the buses stop. It didn’t affect me because I didn’t have to go out but I felt sorry for the people going to work during the last 3 winters. Cars were going up Heath Hill and coming through but no buses. You might have to walk all the way from Bodiam Avenue to the Lewes road to get to work, it wasn’t too clever.
I cannot really tell you much about the local farms and farmers, I remember the farmer’s name was West and I might have known one of the daughters who I believe might have belonged to the Moulsecoomb Youth Fellowship but she was older than me. I can remember the farm being there but I didn’t have any contact at all with them unfortunately, looking back it might have been very interesting.
The floods in 2000 had a big impact on Bevendean. I was very sorry for the shopkeepers there I understand the greengrocers freezers were flooded and they never opened their shop again. I didn’t see it but I heard about it afterwards. It must been horrendous for the people in Bodiam Avenue and Bodiam Close. They’ve had problems there every winter, there has always been flooding in that bit. I think it’s improved now. I believe the newspapers had just been delivered to Mr Clifford, and were all on the floor and they were all ruined, it must have an absolutely terrible for the people there.
Bevendean has changed over the years since we first came here. A lot more people have bought their properties and there’s also a lot more rented by students, especially in the Avenue but all around. On the whole it seems very much the same. There appeared to be a lot more children, when the estate was first built because there were a lot of young married families with young children who have grown up got married and moved away. I feel that there are less young children, than there used to be. There used to be lots in Plymouth Avenue but now we only seem to have got 2 or 3. I like the area, you’ve got nice views it’s near enough to get into the town if you want to, it’s like a village society.
The worst thing about Bevendean is possibly too much traffic, but then that’s how things have developed. When we first came here very few people had cars but now some properties have got 3 or 4. Yes I think the traffic is the worst bit.
I think the best thing about Bevendean is that you’re almost out in the country. I have nice views from my kitchen window, I can see up over the Downs and we used to walk there quite a lot. Years ago we used to walk to Falmer or further to Lewes, I got up to the top of the Hill the other day and that was about as far as I could go. It’s convenient here the bus services a lot better now than it used to be, when it was every 20 minutes if they took one-off that was horrendous but now every 15 minutes if they take one-off it’s not quite a bad, a great improvement. We like it here we’ve been here 58 years. I don’t think we’ll be moving till they take us out.
Thinking about local facilities originally the Doctors surgery wasn’t in Heath Hill Avenue. When we first came to the estate, the surgery was up by Partridge house in Leybourne Road. The doctor used Ken Chapman’s vestry during the week until she could get the house in Leybourne road then she had her surgery built in Heath Hill Avenue. We used to get off the bus by the post box in Heath Hill Avenue and walk up the bank because there was no house there at first, but when the surgery was built we had to go round.
Originally we used to attend St Andrews church but after Jacqueline was born we went to the church here. For the doctors I used the surgery at the bottom of the Avenue but when Jacqueline was born I moved to Dr Roberts whose surgery had been built by that time in Heath Hill Avenue. There was the child welfare clinic, I can’t remember where they had it, but I think it might have been the school. Apart from that there wasn’t anything else much going on those days.
There were no community events during war time because there was nobody living in Bevendean apart from Upper and Lower Bevendean Avenues. We used to have holidays at home, I can remember going to the Wild Park. I don’t remember anything particular happening, for the Coronation I don’t think there were any street parties here. We went with my mother and father to the Gaiety Cinema all day long and watched the Coronation there. They had a sort of giant television screen and we took our lunch with us, which was quite interesting when you think about it because we didn’t have a television then. That was obviously before I was married. There used to be bonfires down on the green but I can’t remember who organised them it was before the time of Becca. There were fireworks and bonfires then.
I think we had a street party for the silver jubilee and of course there were church fetes and things and bazaars. The school used to put on a Christmas play, we used to go and see that. Mostly those were the sort of things I went to.
I was in the guides but that was at St Andrews not Lower Bevendean. My daughter was in the Brownies and then in the guides at Lower Bevendean, she became Queen’s guide. They held their meetings in the Scout hut. Jacqueline went to the Sunday school my sister-in-law used to run. So there was all the things connected with that also she did dancing. I didn’t really have any hobbies. More a question of taking my daughter around and doing things with her. I don’t think there was as much here then as there is now for the children.
There was the White Admiral Pub but I think I only went in there once although possibly we went and sang Christmas carols there. I was never much of a pub person but it was sad they had to close it down, it seems an awful shame and now they have put monstrosities of flats in its place.
I worked for Harman’s on the Bevendean estate although I think the firm was started in Kemptown but I don’t know really know. They moved here about 1962 or 1963 and the firm was originally run by 2 brothers. I know that with the bombing of the Grand Hotel the manager got called out in the middle of the night to find props and things to go down there. Before I worked for them a Canada Dry lorry overturned on the green and Harman’s were called to provide skips to put all the glass in. I don’t think they were very popular with people for their heavy cranes and lorries coming up Heath Hill Avenue. It built up to be quite a big firm at one point but I don’t think they are as busy now. They used to have a number of shops in the town and in the county; I don’t think there was much connection locally with the estate.
Travel in and out of the estate was originally by bus, you could get to the town very quickly and we used to come home at lunchtime. I had an hour and half for lunch so I could get home cook something and get back. In those days the buses went both ways round the estate and they were pretty full but I can’t remember how frequent the service was. I think it was about every 10 or 12 minutes. I learned to drive in 1961 but we didn’t have a car, my father-in-law had a car but I didn’t drive very often, it was buses or walk. When the baby was small I would put her in the pram and push it down to London Road but I still carried on using the buses as well and used the car for a big shop. If the weather was bad the buses would go up through the middle of the estate and not use Norwich Drive. Now it seems at the first sight of snow the buses stop. It didn’t affect me because I didn’t have to go out but I felt sorry for the people going to work during the last 3 winters. Cars were going up Heath Hill and coming through but no buses. You might have to walk all the way from Bodiam Avenue to the Lewes road to get to work, it wasn’t too clever.
I cannot really tell you much about the local farms and farmers, I remember the farmer’s name was West and I might have known one of the daughters who I believe might have belonged to the Moulsecoomb Youth Fellowship but she was older than me. I can remember the farm being there but I didn’t have any contact at all with them unfortunately, looking back it might have been very interesting.
The floods in 2000 had a big impact on Bevendean. I was very sorry for the shopkeepers there I understand the greengrocers freezers were flooded and they never opened their shop again. I didn’t see it but I heard about it afterwards. It must been horrendous for the people in Bodiam Avenue and Bodiam Close. They’ve had problems there every winter, there has always been flooding in that bit. I think it’s improved now. I believe the newspapers had just been delivered to Mr Clifford, and were all on the floor and they were all ruined, it must have an absolutely terrible for the people there.
Bevendean has changed over the years since we first came here. A lot more people have bought their properties and there’s also a lot more rented by students, especially in the Avenue but all around. On the whole it seems very much the same. There appeared to be a lot more children, when the estate was first built because there were a lot of young married families with young children who have grown up got married and moved away. I feel that there are less young children, than there used to be. There used to be lots in Plymouth Avenue but now we only seem to have got 2 or 3. I like the area, you’ve got nice views it’s near enough to get into the town if you want to, it’s like a village society.
The worst thing about Bevendean is possibly too much traffic, but then that’s how things have developed. When we first came here very few people had cars but now some properties have got 3 or 4. Yes I think the traffic is the worst bit.
I think the best thing about Bevendean is that you’re almost out in the country. I have nice views from my kitchen window, I can see up over the Downs and we used to walk there quite a lot. Years ago we used to walk to Falmer or further to Lewes, I got up to the top of the Hill the other day and that was about as far as I could go. It’s convenient here the bus services a lot better now than it used to be, when it was every 20 minutes if they took one-off that was horrendous but now every 15 minutes if they take one-off it’s not quite a bad, a great improvement. We like it here we’ve been here 58 years. I don’t think we’ll be moving till they take us out.
16 May 2013
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