The Francis Frith Collection.
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Hawkhurst photos (25 available)

Old photo of Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst maps (2 available)

Old map of Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst books (11 available)

Hawkhurst memories

Hawkhurst today

It's funny you should mention the Woods Butchers, I'm living in Hawkhurst now and am only 19 but I'm friends with the daughter who owns Wood Butchers, Emily Wood. I do enjoy living in Hawkhurst, it is interesting to look at the old pictures and see what it used to look like, probably a lot nicer in my opinion. I'm not a fan of the new appliances shop on the corner where there used to be a Circle-C which then changed into an Alldays which then closed down when the Budgens opened. I did enjoy the sweets shop when I was younger though, it's a shame that closed down.
Contributed by Helen Cripps

Growing up in Hawkhurst

I have so many happy memories of growing up in Hawkurst in the 1940s /1950s  and although Hawkhurst has changed a lot over the years it's a lovely place to visit.
I still remember all the shops along the colonnade and the moor. Buss the bakers at the moor and little sweet shop just round the corner and 'Pipers' the sweet shop was owned by my friend's grandparents.
We used to go hop picking as well.
I also got married in St Laurence's Church which I remember having a new roof as it was bombed during the war.
Maureen Smith (nee Wenham).

My home hawkhurst

I grew up in hawkhurst , i lived in gills green in hawkhurst , hawkhurst has a close community everybody knew everybody , most familys that lived there had lived there for years even generations . my dads family had lived there for many years . i have very fond memorys of hawkhurst while i was growing up , the tractors going up and down the road all day . where i lived there were farms all around us. I could smell fresh wood from the wood factory just up the road , i would wake up to the sound of sheep barring in the fields just across the road and birds singing . The kind of thing you would see ...read more here
Contributed by susanne jones

Kent memories

Hawkhurst today

It's funny you should mention the Woods Butchers, I'm living in Hawkhurst now and am only 19 but I'm friends with the daughter who owns Wood Butchers, Emily Wood. I do enjoy living in Hawkhurst, it is interesting to look at the old pictures and see what it used to look like, probably a lot nicer in my opinion. I'm not a fan of the new appliances shop on the corner where there used to be a Circle-C which then changed into an Alldays which then closed down when the Budgens opened. I did enjoy the sweets shop when I was younger though, it's a shame that closed down.
A memory of Hawkhurst contributed by Helen Cripps

Extracts From Hawkhurst & Kent books

Hawkhurst, Highgate and Post Office 1925

A costumer and milliner, H H Connolly (third left) ensured that villagers had a chance to sport the latest twenties fashions. The weather-boarded property, left, was a post office, with G H Moorhouse the chemist and a trader, A J Gray, nearby. Are the two men (centre left) discussing the latest scandal of the day - a dance craze known as the Charleston?
An extract from from"Kent Revisited Photographic Memories".

Pegwell, High Street 1907

On the right is the old Belle Vue Tavern dating back to the 1760s, which was an earlier haunt for smugglers. In 1831, the landlord Mr John Cramp received a visit from the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Princess Victoria; they dined on potted shrimp paste. Later, Mr Cramp received the Royal Appointment of Purveyor of Essence of Shrimps in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. On the left are the Floral Tea Gardens followed by the Pear Tree Inn, later Samuel Banger’s potted shrimp paste factory. His small paste pots had highly decorated lids depicting scenes of Pegwell; today they are valuable antiques.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Ramsgate, Spencer Square 1890

Work on building this elegant square started in 1802 after James Townley bought the ground. The buildings on the left were officers’ quarters during the Napoleonic Wars. The square was a large parade ground, and nearby Addington Street was a military camp. Frith’s photographer was standing outside No 6 Royal Road, where Vincent Van Gogh had stayed.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Here we see three of eight classical-style statues holding lanterns which stood at the junction of the High Street and George Street outside Sangers Amphitheatre and Hotel between 1911 and 1913. Six statues were removed and erected outside the Hall by the sea in Margate; the other two remained until 1939. There was controversy surrounding these figures: in 1908, Alderman Gwyn called them ‘an eyesore and a disfigurement’. Lord George Sanger had seen the originals of the statues in Paris outside the Grand Opera House in 1883, and had eight replicas cast, paying £50 per figure for the transport and erection of these statues. Opposite is Lloyds Bank, which moved to new premises in 1928, renting the building to the NatWest Bank. The piano sign next door denotes Golden & Wind’s premises.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".

Here we have a tranquil view at low water of the inner basin. On the extreme right is the Clock House. To its left in Smeaton’s dry dock is a sailing vessel being repaired. The fishing smacks in the foreground have RE numbers, denoting that they are registered in Ramsgate; later the E was dropped and only the letter R used.
An extract from from"Ramsgate Old and New Photographic Memories".