The January Social was undoubtedly the largest event the History Group has hosted and, although I say it myself, it was well received. We had a full house of 80 visitors for the pie and mash supper that was followed by a power point presentation of ‘Hartfield Then & Now’ to which several others squeezed into the Hall!
Whilst looking for suitable pictures for the website it had become clear to me that there were so many pictures that they needed to be put together in a logical manner. I could also see that many pictures were entirely recognisable with the present day location, even 100 or more years apart. This led me to the decision that before considering the website I wanted to share it as a real live event to the History Group and by inference, the village.
Starting at Perryhill I showed pictures of our own 1927 house that remained unchanged as the farm manager’s cottage until 1972 when it was separated from the farm and extended. Much more dramatic were the changes to the neighbouring Perryhill Farmhouse that is very different in appearance with none of the timber frame showing and extended by perhaps a third. The growth of a substantial oak tree that is not in sight in the earlier picture seems almost too big to believe!
The Buckhurst ‘Terrier’ map showing the land and possessions of the Lord of the Manor circa 1597 provided a general view of the area we are talking about and a rural painting of Hartfield dated 1800, which looked as if it might have been painted from Perryhill, set the scene for our ‘walk through’.
Close by is Bolebrook with a reminder of the mill in the Domesday Book and using a piece of the Terrier Map of 1597 compared to the Tithe Map of 1842 to show the hand dug water course that provided a supply to the mill pond by collecting water from the Medway further back using a weir to raise the water level. Several early drawings and a photo of the Gatehouse in the days when it was a farm were compared with Bolebrook Castle, which is currently being refurbished.
The rare photo of a collision between an FLB brick lorry and a Model Y Ford negotiating the railway bridge, resulting in the lorry demolishing the parapet and coming to a stop with one wheel hanging in mid air, caused a group indrawn breath! This took us to the railway where there were several comparison pictures to enjoy. Leaving the railway, on the next bend we looked at the long time location of the Shelley family haulage business and then talked a little about Stone House the police house of Sargent Shelley before reaching Chesson’s Corner. The development of this junction with the 1842 tithe map showing the location of the tollgate with the lovely picture of Tollgate Cottage which was demolished and the subsequent growth of Chesson’s garage.
The recent Crown Farm development and the moving of the building that has become the shop for Nick the Butcher – who supplied us with our pies – started our trip up the High Street with several comparisons 100 years apart. A quick look at the 1597 Buckhurst Terrier showed us that both Hartfielde Greene and Towne Crofte were called that even then! The various development stages of Vine House then led us to look up Church Street and the changes leading on from the original Elm tree and up into the churchyard where we looked at the Lychgate and in the other direction the school at several ages and stages.
Returning down Church Street with some wartime stories about the Armstrong Siddeley ambulance we looked at several of the shops in the High Street that are no longer extant but are still easily recognisble in their existing sales windows. Some of the buildings were seen in several guises a few years apart and several views of The Dorset Arms prior to it becoming the Haywaggon in 1976 including an amazing 1864 photograph in which hardly any greenery is visible.
The Old Post Office and the story about the very tall Salisbury House were followed by several great pictures of Stairs Farm opposite by courtesy of the Lewis family. The bakery, later Benge and most recently Pooh Corner was followed by Oaklea Court and the Wesleyan Chapel bringing us to the end of the High Street.
Up Newtons Hill with comparison pictures took us to Gallipot Street and on to Central Garage with various stories of both wartime and various developments of the garage. Tollbar Cottage, another garage and the Upper Hartfield post office that was burned down and replaced by a building that, although enlarged is still just visible!
Holy Trinity and the growth of greenery hiding it from certain directions was followed by The Hatch Inn and then down the hill to the water splash at Newbridge. Lastly came a couple of splendid pictures taken from the early days of motoring when Kidds Hill was used as a hillclimb test complete with ladies in long dresses and hats.
Finally an appeal for more historic family pictures to add to the story for the future interest of the world of Hartfield.
Thank you to all of you who came and helped us to support the Village Hall roof fund to the sum of £185. If you have any pictures to add, do please contact me through the website.November 2015.
