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Bohemia Village Voice No. 37. Saturday 16 September 2006.
Your free local newsletter - anything and everything to do with Bohemia
BOHEMIA AREA ASSOCIATION
PROFILE - KEN BROOKS
Whither Bohemia? Residents ponder local problems
The History Man - Ken Brooks
Local residents spoke out about local issues at September’s BAA (Bohemia Area Association) committee meeting last week*. BOHEMIA IN BLOOM
‘Bohemia in Bloom’, the annual event in which a prize, kindly donated by Vivienne Bond, in memory of her husband Chris, is awarded for Bohemia’s best garden, has been cancelled, said Peter Holland. The reason? The drought and hose-pipe ban. STREET LITTER
Peter Holland said that “a machine has replaced a man”. The street sweeper who used to clean Bohemia Road and other streets has been replaced by a man with a mechanical sweeper. “It used to be - almost - spotless when the street sweeper cleaned,” said Peter. There are now, apparently, just three machines for the whole borough of Hastings. “Although a lorry goes along Bohemia Road every day, including Sunday, the side roads are absolutely filthy,” commented Eileen Fermor. It was agreed that Vivienne Bond and Daniel Poulter would be contacted to register the committee’s concerns. NEW LOGO
A lady called Sharma has been asked to come up with some ideas for a new logo. The current one of a group of people talking was thought to need renewing.
Ex-St Paul’s teacher and passionate local historian Ken Brooks is interviewed by John Humphries for ‘Bohemia NAMING THE TWITTENS Village Voice’. Serious childhood illness and bullying at It was agreed that naming of Bohemia’s passageways, walk- work failed to prevent his eventual acceptance into the ways and cut-throughs was a world of teaching ... and history. Part 1.
‘good thing’. It would make it easier to refer to them. It was suggested that maybe consulting old maps to find out if the twittens had names in the past. Michael Ward said the BAA could make recommendations to the Council that the twittens be adopted. The Council would then be responsible for looking after them, including cleaning and lighting. It was agreed that our local councillors, Vivienne Bond and Daniel Poulter be contacted in the first instance. The BAA will invite suggestions for names through their newsletter. In the meantime, anyone with suggestions for names should please contact the BAA chairman Peter Holland at 21, Bohemia Road. The one running between Tower Road and Lower South Road, the meeting learned is maintained by the Council. CLOUDESLEY ROAD
Should this road be included in ‘Bohemia’, the meeting was asked. The problem had arisen because Cloudesley Road resident Dave Kent had paid £1 fee to become a member, and wanted to join. “I feel I live in Bohemia,” David was reported as saying, “and I use the local shops.” Peter Holland pointed out that the BAA (Continued on page 2)
PROPERTY FOR SALE
Two Tower Road houses go under the hammer Numbers 19 and 28, Tower Road are featured in this month’s Clive Emson property auction. Both lots will be offered on the 21st of this month at the Brighton Metropole. No. 28 is located at the corner of Spring Street and Tower Road and is described as a pair of one bedroomed maisonettes, both with gas central heating and currently let on assured shorthold tenancies at £85 and £75 per week. The auctioneers
believe the property will fetch between £115 and £125,000. No. 19 is a freehold block of three flats, situated near the Bohemia Road end of Tower Road. The property is divided into three one-bedroomed flats, each let at £303 per calendar month. All have gas central heating and uPVC double glazed windows. Clive Emson Land & Property Auctioneers. Tel. 0845 6036614.
Ken Brooks’ four different topics ruling passions for the children. are local history, I really went to ancient history, a lot of trouble: geology and everything film-making. He from ancient also has an unriEgypt to makvalled collection ing a life-sized of photographs dinosaur. In of Hastings and 1971, we spent St Leonards, a whole year i n c l u d i n g building a Bohemia. Ken dinosaur! I has written two never felt that books on local ‘chalk and talk’ history, Hastings was enough to Then & Now and inspire the chilAround Hastings dren. So when I Then & Now. found myself Each volume teaching the contains numerchildren about Ken Brooks, at home, last week ous photographs of evolution, I Hastings and St Leonards, loving- asked myself how I could get the ly collected over a number of children to understand what a years. Each old photograph is dinosaur really looked like, or paired with one taken recently to what size it was. So I said ‘I know show up the changes which have what we’ll do, we’ll build a lifetaken place. Each pair is accompa- sized dinosaur.’ At twenty feet nied by full notes. He has been high, it was too big to get it inside giving lectures on local history at the school, so all the work was Ore Community Centre for some done outside the classroom. It was years, and uses the photographs in covered over with a tarpaulin his talks. “I am constantly updat- every night. It was made from a ing the notes, almost on a weekly wooden frame, covered with basis,” said Ken. chicken wire, papier maché and paint. All the work was done durDINOSAUR Where did the interest in local his- ing lunch times and break times. tory start? It was at St Paul’s Mr Norcross, the head, was so school, in Bohemia where Ken impressed with it, he wanted to put taught from 1968 to 1980. “I start- it into the Hastings Carnival in ed off as an ordinary primary 1971. I’ve even got an 8mm movie school teacher, and one thing I of ‘our’ dinosaur sitting on top of a used to love to do, was to work out lorry. We won a prize for it.” Fired (Continued on page 2) PROPERTY FOR SALE
Four beds and views over Amherst Tennis Club £275k Fox & Son are offering a detached house with views over Amherst Lawn Tennis Club for £274,950. The four-bedroomed property comes with modern fitted kitchen,
conservatory, gardens front and rear and a garage. Fox & Son. Tel. 01424 722177. www.sequencehome.co.uk
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Bohemia Village Voice No. 37. Saturday 16 September 2006.
(BAA meeting, from page 1) constitution does not include Cloudesley Road. [The area covered is precisely defined in the BAA constitution as being within ‘a line drawn from 43, Horntye Road to 39, Amherst Road, thence to 54, Upper Park Road, thence to 1, Bohemia Road, thence to 1, Tower Road, thence to St Peter’s Church (including St Peter’s Road) and back to 43, Horntye Road’] Although the constitution says that ‘Anyone resident, trading or a corporate organisation in the area covered by the association is eligible for membership’ it also says that membership is available to ‘Any person involved in or interested in the activities of the Association at the invitation of the committee.’ Terry Foord said that Cloudesley Road ‘used to be in the BAA’. It was agreed that Cloudesley Road residents would be very welcome as members of the BAA. TREASURER’S REPORT
Mike Cramp, treasurer of the BAA, reported a healthy account balance of £766. He was pleased to immediately correct this to £767 as he was passed Dave Kent’s £1 membership fee, (see above). FORUM REPORT
Andy Holmes read out some of the many, lengthy reports he had received from Caroline Hodgson of the Central St Leonards and Gensing Forum. FUTURE OF BOHEMIA
Where is Bohemia going? Where do we, the residents want it to go? Peter Holland reminded the meeting of the strange state of affairs in retail Bohemia: ‘Fifteen places to buy alcohol, eight places where newspapers can be obtained, but only two bakers and no butchers.’ It was discouraging to see so many businesses start up, only to last six months before closing. ‘We are run by people who have no interest in Bohemia,’ Peter said. ‘We have had every type of person from every department of Hastings Council to look at the problem, but nothing has happened. Perhaps the answer is to look again at the gyratory traffic system, which has been much discussed.’ The provision of some parking places certainly seemed to be the key to the retail problem. One member asked if the provision of short-term (15 minutes) parking bays in the side roads off Bohemia Road would be feasible. Trevor Webb pointed out that in order to achieve this, it
would be necessary to accept a parking plan for the whole of Bohemia, which would be undesirable. It was agreed that Richard Homewood, (executive director of environment and safety at Hastings Borough Council) should be re-invited to respond to the BAA’s previous suggestions put to him concerning a one-way system. ALLEYWAYS LITTER
Terry Foord reported that a “large, heavy, two-door, Coca-Cola fridge” had been dumped in the path connecting Upper Park Road and Upper South Road (once known as Shornden Passage), and that he had contacted the litter and fly-tipping department at Hastings Council (0800 085 4500). ‘By the afternoon of the same day, the fridge had been cleared,’ said Terry. ‘An ice-cream fridge was also dumped in the passage, and that too has been cleared,’ he added. BOHEMIA BYGONES
The Bohemia Bygones exhibition had originally been planned to take place on the Friday and Saturday the 15/16 of September. reported Terry Foord, but, as so few photographs had been received by him, the event would have to be delayed. News that local historian Ken Brooks had agreed to present his unrivalled collection of photographs of Bohemia at the show was warmly welcomed. NEWSLETTER
The Bohemia Area News editor Andy Holmes reported that the next edition had been written and was only waiting for final scrutiny by the editorial committee before being printed and distributed. ‘It will be delivered to about 700 homes in Bohemia within the next week or so,’ he said. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the BAA committee will be held at the YMCA on Thursday October the 5th at 6:30pm. * Members attending were: Peter Holland, chairman, Jeanette Holland, secretary, Andy Holmes, Steve Mann, John L Humphries, Mike Cramp, Terry Foord, Rev. Michael Ward, Rosemary Iddenden, Eileen Fermor, Charles Levett, Keith Wood and Trevor Webb. Bohemia Area Association, 21, Bohemia Road, St Leonards, TN37 6RA. Tel. 01424 445086.
(Ken Brooks, from page 1) by the success of this exercise, Ken then thought of The History of Hastings as the next topic. “I went to Hastings Museum, to see if it was possible to copy some of their old photographs. They were very helpful, and I made slides, which I could project onto a screen in the classroom. This is where the idea of the Then & Now books came from. The children had seen the old pictures on the screen, and I would then take the children out round the town, to the different places, taking copies of the old photographs with us. We could then say ‘this is what it looked like a hundred years ago, and this is what it looks like now, noting which things had changed and which things hadn’t. It really seemed to inspire the children, and they really seemed to enjoy it.” How big were the classes he took out? “In those days, it was quite common to have 30 to 40 children in a class. I would take them out, sometimes just myself, sometimes with another teacher, and we never had any problems at all. They all walked in lines, in twos. It would never happen today. You now have to have one adult for every five children.” Where did Ken take them? “Sometimes to the Old Town Fishmarket, on one occasion to see the tomb of James Burton.” COLLECTING
How did he start to seriously collect old photographs? “The project at St Paul’s was originally planned
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just for one term, but I was collecting more and more photographs, slides and prints, and I really got hooked on it. It interested me so much, that I just carried on collecting. And when I left school teaching and moved into adult education, in about 1980, I started running adult courses at Hastings College on the history of Hastings, which I called Hastings Then & Now.” How did he get the Now shots? “I’d go round the town with my camera, the old photograph in one hand and my camera in the other, and I’d take photographs of exactly the same view. It was very important to me that I took the ‘now’ shot from exactly the same spot.” That must have caused some problems? “Yes, sometimes it was quite difficult. A hundred years ago, the cameraman could set up his tripod in the middle of the road, and of course the horse and carts would walk round him. These days, you try standing in the same spot. You take your life in your hands. Where I really had to get the shot from the middle of the road, I would make sure there was nothing coming for some way away, and Diana (his partner) would stand there to keep a look out. Some of the old photographs were taken from vantage points which would be impossible today.” (To be continued) Read, in part 2 next week, how Ken risks his life to get a picture of the America Ground.
Letters ++ Middle of nowhere?
newer housing, albeit to varying degrees. What was there which encouraged this building far (for those days) from Hastings? Was there a factory which needed workers locally? In the 19th century, obviously with no transport, most people lived near their place of work. I am intrigued as to why Bohemia was built, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
Dear Sir, My mother is keen on history and has been looking at why the area is known as Bohemia. We always hear the expression a “Bohemian lifestyle” and I wonder if the current inhabitants of Bohemia (in the Czech Republic) are like this! One thing fascinates me - about 150 years ago, the older part of the Bohemia area would have been John Malkin isolated, as all around it, there is Barnfield Close PROPERTY FOR SALE
5-bedroomed house for £170k A five-bedroomed semi-detached house in Bohemia for £169,950. Fox and Son are marketing the substantial property which is located at 136, Bohemia Road. There is gas central heating and double glazing. The accommoda-
tion consists of five bedrooms, lounge, dining room and a 14ft kitchen/breakfast room. There are ‘many original features including picture rails and stripped pine wood panel doors’. Fox & Son. Tel. 01424 722177.
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Bohemia Village Voice No. 37. Saturday 16 September 2006.
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HISTORY OF BOHEMIA
HISTORY OF BOHEMIA
Gipsy teas and syllabub
St Peter’s Road - 1974
This is part four of five excerpts from a February 1966 Hastings Observer article entitled ‘Bohemia For Gipsy Teas And Syllabub’, which explores the possibilities of how Bohemia got its name. The story so far ... Hastings Museum curator, Mr J. Mainwaring Baines, quotes a reference to Bohemia in the first Hastings Guide, published in 1794, which mentions a farmhouse called Bohemia, ‘famous for plenty of fine cream; on which account it is much frequented in the summer by tea and syllabub parties.’ A map published in 1783 shows Bohemy Farm and a reference to Bohemia is found in 1804 when the occupier was a Benjamin Foster. Now read on ...
The following listing was published in the 1974 edition of Kelly’s Directory of Hastings with St Leonards and Battle. The abbreviations are thought to be as follows: Arth = Arthur; Chas = Charles; Edwd = Edward; Eliz = Elizabeth; Fredk = Frederick; Geo = George; Herbt = Herbert; Hy = Henry; Jn = John; jun = junior; Margt = Margaret; Michl = Michael; Regnld = Reginald; Rt = Robert; sen = senior; Thos = Thomas; Wltr = Walter; Wm = William. St Peter’s Road runs from 56, Chapel Park Road, to 35, Tower Road.
ROYAL VISIT
The house [presumably Bohemia Farm] was rebuilt and turned into a mansion, and in 1830 the Princess Sophia of Gloucester stayed there for three months with great success. Hastings loves a title, and a princess met with immediate popularity. They pealed their bells, hung out banners, fired salutes, gave dinners, and so on, in tremendous fashion. In fact the princess Victoria arrived in St Leonards with her mother four years later - a girl who was one day to become queen - they had difficulty in finding even greater honour to do her. But that is all by the way. In 1831, the mansion was put up for auction, and described as ‘a substantial Family Mansion; newly constructed of White Bricks, with Stone Corners, and Window Mouldings, in the Picturesque Style of An Old English Manor House, with two Advanced Wings and Gabled Parapets, and slated roofs known as Bohemia.’ The advertisement added, ‘For a Nobleman, or a Man of Fashion desiring a Residence on the Coast, the premises form a Mansion unique of its kind, designed in good taste, and well adapted for the accommodation of a family.’ BOHEMIA VILLAGE VOICE Printed copies of the Bohemia Village Voice may now be collected from any of the following places: Munday’s Newsagents, Wood’s Newsagents, Shell Service Station, Alldays Supermarket, Empress Art in Tower Road,
(This may well have been so, but what of the servants’ quarters? In 1829, one of the domestic staff tried to burn the place down, but without success!) The note continued: ‘The prediliction for Hastings as a Bathing Place evinced by the public, and the great accession made to it within the last few years, and making to it, and by the formation of the new Town of St Leonards to the westward, and the difficulty of obtaining Ground in the direction of this Estate, will add very considerably to its value.’ This potential building land is shown by a map attached to the auction sales catalogue. It did not become building land, as we know, for it was acquired by Wastel Brisco, and eventually became the Summer Fields estate (yet another name for the property). Now this map shows the names and extent of the fields round the old farm, which are grouped mostly to the north-west of the road ‘From Hastings to London’, which passes through them. This is Bohemia Road today. What is today the Oval was then the ‘Upper Chenies’ with our present tennis courts and White Rock gardens as ‘Lower Chenies’. Now this is a name of interest, for the family held land at Halton in the form of John Cheney Knight. In 1451, it seems he had omitted to pay the quitrent due for his holding there. His grandson was a Lord Warden of Cinque Ports. Lying on the seaward side of De Cham Road, was the Chapel Field - a link with the former Hospital of St Mary Magdalen, or ‘the Maudlin’. Then across the road in front of the museum, Wanty Field. The rest of the names were not very interesting, save the two northern-most ones, Great Hornty and Little Hornty. These two are very ancient names, and as ‘hornegha’ goes back to the 12th century, Norman times, but it is probably older. Final part next week
NORTH-EAST SIDE St Peter’s Church Pugh, Rev Raymond, B.A. (vicar of St Peter’s) (St Peter’s Vicarage) 1. Croft, Myra. 2. Winter, Regnld G. 3. Davis, Raymond V. 3. Jones, David W. 4. Hancock, Eliz 5. Turner, Mrs E. A. 5. Muckle, Mrs D. M. 6. Turner, Allan J. 6. Self, R. M. 7. Franklin, Misses. 8. Smith, Mrs L. 10. Grafham, Miss F. 10. Jones, Wm. 11. Larby, Mrs D. E. 12. Bendon, Christophr M. 12. Cowles, Wltr H. 13. Wheldon, M. O. 14. Tomlin, H. M. 15. Randle, Mrs. 16. Lock, Wm T. 17. Betty, J. 17. Hepworth, Ernest 18. Luckhurst, Miss D. H. 19. Young, Chas.
20. Harris, Miss S. 20. Crossley, Miss C. 21. Sisman, Miss E. M. 21. Boorman, Beatrice, M. 22. French, Mrs V. I. 23. Weatherseed, Wm E. 24. Harman, W. F. 24. Campion, Mrs N. J. 25. Spencer, Jn L. 26. Hicks, M. 26. Bosanquet, Thos J. S. 27. Kennett, R. W. M. 28. Cornwell, Mrs W. E. 28. Eacott, Chas W. 29. Hills, Mrs F. M. 30. Lyster, Miss E. 30. Harman, E. G. 30. Heathfield, Gertrude E. 31. Kitson, Graham. 31. Ray, Timothy. SOUTH-WEST SIDE SIDE 40. Alexandra House. 39. Pybus, E. 39. Llewellyn, S. M. 39A. Calton, S. K. 38. Broomfield, N. A. 38. Smith, Regnld. ... Here is Cloudesley Road ... 37. Joy, Geo. T. L. 36. Worsley, Miss. 36. Hayes, Amy. 35A. Henderson, Mrs E. 34. Catchpole, Geo. 34. Van-Nuland, I. S. 33. West, F. 33A. Tullett, Albt J. H. 33B. Parr, B. C. 33C. Ide, E. C. 32. Fox, Lawrence. 32. Wadsworth, Donald. 32. Leckie, Douglas. 32A. Kelly, Miss J. 32A. Weekes, Phyllis A.
Puzzle Corner Q. This odd looking structure lies between the Law Courts and Horntye Park sports centre. Do you know what it is? Answer next week. It’s not a war-time shelter.
Bookman’s Halt, Horntye Park Sports Complex, The Pet Shop in Bohemia Rd and the YMCA in St Paul’s Road. Remember you can receive a full-colour version by email. What is this structure?
Last week’s puzzle The life-sized model of an iguanodon shown in last week’s puzzle, is in Hastings Museum. The most frequently found dinosaur remains in Sussex are those of the iguanodon, which lived during the Lower Cretaceous period, between 125 and 110 million years ago. The iguanodon was first identified by Lewes doctor Gideon Mantell in 1822. These early finds from a quarry nears Cuckfield were teeth, recognised by Mantell as being similar to those of the South American iguana - hence the name iguana-don, or iguana tooth.
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Bohemia Village Voice No. 37. Saturday 16 September 2006.
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HISTORY OF BOHEMIA
Bohemia Road’s butcher, baker, bank and beer seller
Bohemia Road early in the last century, shows a wide range of businesses operating. Photo courtesy of Colin Green, Empress Art
Another example of life in Bohemia nearly a hundred years ago. The photograph shows the people and shops in the early part of the last century - perhaps 191520? The business names of the parade tie up well with the 1920 edition of Kelly’s Street Directory, kindly loaned by local resident Vic Chalcraft. The print itself was supplied by Colin Green of Empress Art. On the extreme left, the number ‘45’ can be clearly seen. This was presumably A J Burgess, beer and wine store, mentioned in Kelly’s. Three ladies are seen walking by all wearing enormous hats and ankle-length skirts. Next door, no. 47, has its sunblinds out and a sale is taking place. Painted on the wall
above the shop are the words ‘The Noted Cash Stores. China Glass Ironmongery and Crystal Oil’ [What was crystal oil? It’s not in Collins dictionary. Perhaps it was for crystal oil burning lamps?]. Parked outside is a two-wheeled hand cart with the word ‘ROAD’ just visible. Today, numbers 45 and 47 are combined as ‘Alldays Supermarket’. No. 49 is mentioned in Kelly’s as ‘Edward Smith, baker and confectioner’. The window blinds are down. On the front of the shop, just below the window it says “Dinner Parties Catere[d for]. Today, this is ‘The Cake Box’, bakers. The shop at no. 51 has a sunblind down over the front of the premises. It is mentioned in
Grapevine CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL Planning application has been made by the school governors for new entrance gates, a screen and retaining wall, new external stairs, covered walkway and extensions to the nursery. There had been no appeals received from the public by last Friday.
Kelly’s as ‘James Horsley, greengrocer’. It is today ‘The Curry Hut’. No. 53 in the photograph appears to have items for sale in the window, but according to Kelly’s, it is Wm N Jinks & Son, carpenters and house decorators. Today, the business trades as ‘Frydays’ fish and chip shop. Next door is no. 55, the local pharmacist Thos W Jones, MPS, which today, takes in number 57 and trades as Bloom’s Pharmacy. No. 57 in the photograph is described in Kelly’s as ‘The East Sx Window Cleaning Co (sub office) D. Baird’ The building at the end of the parade, no. 59, is mentioned in VIE DE BOHÈME
BOHEMIA FOODMARKET Mr Masood Iqbal’s planning application to replace the existing solid security shutters with new electric perforated ones and the installation of a new shopfront had not been opposed by last Friday. The public consultation period elapsed on Monday 11 September.
Apologies that lack of space has meant the non-appearance of part 16 our serial Vie de Bohème, by Henry Mürger. It will be in next week’s edition. BOHEMIA VILLAGE VOICE
Please note that there will be no edition published on Saturday 30 September.
Kelly’s as the ‘London, County and Westminster Bank (Silverhill branch), G.W.H.Gates, manager’. Kelly’s also says that at the rear of 59 is the ‘Conservative Club with A. S. Clarke as steward’. Today, the shop is run by the Hastings Locksmith & Key Service. The road to the left is Upper South Road, and the shop on the opposite corner, which is partly obscured by a cart turning, is clearly marked ‘Family Butcher’. Kelly’s Directory says simply ‘John Banks, butcher’. It traded as ‘Footsteps’ for some years, but is now an empty shop. Empress Art, 3/4, Tower Road, TN37 6JE. Colin Green. Tel. 01424 442000. Bohemia Village Voice Edited and published by John Humphries at 33, St Peter’s Road, Bohemia Village, Sussex, TN37 6JQ. Tel. 01424 446759. Mobile: 07891 634377. E-mail: john@johnhumphries.f2s.com Proof reader: Valentine Torrington. First published in May 2006. © John Humphries 2006. Printed by Fastprint of St Leonards, Sussex. Next issue: No. 38 Sat 23 Sept 2006.