Memories of the Old High St

108 was run as a lodging house and was known colloquially as the "Doss House"! My memories of it were that it housed mainly older single men some of who may have been down on their luck and would otherwise have been homeless. My dad also had a yard on the other side of West Street right on the corner. this had a garage/workshop area with a pit, an open yard area, and storage for wood etc.

My Aunt Beatrice who is mentioned in the 1950 census and me in the backyard of 106 High St. 1955.

106 was three stories high and was painted dark green on the outside at the front. Dark green shutters covered two thirds of the front ground floor window. The front entrance from the street went through a large wooden dark green front door into a passageway with a door on the left to the front room, ( this was always kept closed and locked for some reason). All of the doors inside were stained in a very dark wood colour. At the other end of the passage was the staircase and another door that led into the living/dining room. From the living room which always had an open fire going with a kettle on the grate with the dining table in the middle of the room. A TV was at one end of the large table. Two doors led to either the front room or through into the kitchen area. There was also door to an area under the stairs which was used as a coal storage area. The front room was always the "best" room and had as I recall, all the nice furniture and fittings. A large display cabinet held amongst other things, a full dinner service and a silver revolver!! This was long before strict firearms laws. A large painting hung on the wall, ( I still have it, as it was passed to me when my dad died). The strange thing was, the front room was never used.

The Kitchen area was in two sections. The first had a doorway out into a small yard and had a gas cooker and storage area, ( scullery?) together with what was called a "safe" which was a kind of cold storage cupboard, ( they didn't have a fridge). The second section was the washing area with a sink, bath and copper boiler for the washing. This also had an exit to the small yard and that had an outside toilet. The yard had an access area through to 108 High Street too. The yard also had ladder access to a roof area which was used to dry the washing.

As I said, the house had three stories. I think it had 6 bedrooms in all, three at the front and three at the back. They all had open fireplaces but they were only lit in the very coldest of winters. Only three of the bedrooms were used, the others were just spares. I don't remember so much about 108 as I didn't go in there much as a young lad. I do remember a communal kitchen and a large common room with a big open fire range that the lodgers used to use.

My mother and Grandmother outside their house in Argent St. 1937.

106 was next door to a newsagents, 104 but I don't remember the name of the place or the people who owned it. Further back towards Grays was the Bull pub. Opposite 106, I remember a small toyshop and the wooden slatted houses too. Further down the High Street was the White Hart pub. Both 106 and 108 were compulsory purchased by the local council and demolished in I think 1969 or thereabouts. I remember my dad was fuming about it and calling them "daylight robbers". What short sighted fools they were and what an attraction it all would have been today.

"The lorry is on the wall that separated The King’s Arms from my grandparent’s house. I was about one year old at the time, about 1940 but my brother Tony who is three years older remembers it well. Hopefully some of your site visitors will one day give you more info on the market as it was quite large." Gino Reeve.