Welcome to Bygone Bodiam Archives |
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Hello. I hope you find the photos and others details interesting. I am constantly developing, adding to, changing and generally messing about with the site all the time as I get ideas and try to present things in different ways. This page will also be a "Keith blog" of my thoughts as I develop the site. I hope this will give you an idea of how the site is developing. The side bar gives details of the contents of this page and the latest postings are nearest the top. If you want to avoid my blathering and go straight to the site content there is a link aside. Keith Ennis |
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Page contents Introduction
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A happy New Year to you all. One more photo today. This has been passed to me by Terry Brabon and shows his father, Jim, hop spraying in August 1946. I have put this on the "People" page and you can view the page here. Keith Ennis
One photo today of a visit to the Massey Ferguson factory which includes my father (Rex). Click here to see. Keith Ennis
Must get something new on before the end of the year. Details of the 1952 Harvest Supper added here. Keith Ennis
Today's additions are some photos of Levetts Lane being built. These have been kindly supplied by Mike Armitage and they were taken by his father during the construction. Mike also has many memories of Bodiam and Guinness and he is happy to share them. When I have time I will introduce some of them on to the site. The Levetts Lane photos can be found here (at the bottom of the page). Keith Ennis
This is a new record for this site. Three updates in a month. Today I have received two photo from Mark Trussler. The first is of his Gran, Mary picking hops at a bin, the second a family picture, again picking at a bin. They can both be found on the Hop Picking page. I must thank Mark for his help in sending me these photos. Keith Ennis
I'm really working hard this month. This is the second update. Mainly because I have been contacted by an old school friend who I haven't seen or heard from since the 1970's. Tony Trussler (who now resides in Connecticut) has been in contact and the photos on the site brought back a lot of memories. This along with sorting through my mothers photos has developed a new subject page- Bodiam Primary School - and a couple of photos are posted there to start with.. They can be found here. Keith Ennis
Photos of Martyn Lawrence and Alf Hurley taken at the 2004 Weald of Kent Ploughing Match here. Keith Ennis
Press Cuttings for February 1929 added here. Keith Ennis
Another small addition. Three pages from Guinness Time about "Hopping" written by the Rector of St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney. These can be found on the Hop Picking page. Keith Ennis
Two more photos on the People Photos page. I must say thank you to John Brabon for letting me have permission to show these. Keith Ennis
Today's addition is two group photos. I don't know where they were taken and what the occasion was. There are many people I cannot identify so any assistance will be appreciated. They can be found on People Photos. Keith Ennis
I have finally got around to adding some more information. An additional photo on the Castle Inn page and a new subject of Bodiam Pancake Race. Keith Ennis
Today's addition is about the Castle Inn. I need something to spur me on and a recent e-mail from Evelyn Olney (nee George) who now lives in Australia has done just that. The article includes a photo of her sister Linda. Evelyn found the site brought back many memories of Bodiam. I am pleased that both she and others have found the site contains items of interest. I would also like to thank Nick Bodle and John Brabon for their recent messages. Whilst composing this message I had a call from Martyn Lawrence. He had been looking through the photos on the site with his mother and sister and spotted his maternal grandparents (George and Edith Catt) in one of the 1950 Harvest Supper photos. Keith Ennis
Back to Harvest Suppers today. The first Guinness Bodiam Harvest Supper was held in 1950 in the Oast at New House. Details from a "Guinness Time" along with some larger photos from the article can be found here. Anyway, back to today's posting. A section on Hop Training has been added with photos and cuttings from "Guinness Time". Keith Ennis
There is also some new Press Cuttings for January 1929. Click here for details. Keith Ennis
A new year and the start of the hop picking year. Three new sections added, Winter Preparation and Spring Preparation, with Hop Stringing incorporated into "The Hop Picking Year". I hope there is something here that interests you. Keith Ennis
Keith Ennis
More Press Cuttings this update. Those for September and October 1928 are here. I might get 1928 finished by the end of the year. Keith Ennis
A record for the site. Three updates in a week. This time I have been through the press cuttings and have put on those for June, July and August 1928. Keith Ennis
Rick and Bernie have spurred me on to more work. They is now a page for Bodiam Football Club. I haven't got all the details of the photos to hand but you can view the photos here. Anyone you recognise? Keith Ennis Not much to add this time. A couple of weeks ago Levetts Lane was featured in an article in the Daily Telegraph Property pages. I have copied these and they can be viewed from the Bodiam Housing Association page or by clicking here. I have also been approached by the new owners of Longacre (Justins) in Sandhurst Road. They are trying to find out the history of the property. Can anyone help? Keith Ennis No sooner had I put the above update on, I logged onto my e-mail and found two messages about the site. The first was from Rick Sellens. He corrected me on his name which I had put on as Mick. Sorry Rick, I have corrected it now. The second was from Bernard Lawrence. He has been having fun picking out all the photos of his relations (I still have some more that Martyn let me have to put on). Thank you to both of you for giving me feedback. Your comments make the site so much more worthwhile and spurs me on to adding more. Another Lawrence, Martyn in this case has also hunted out some more photos of Bodiam which I hope to be able to put on the site soon. I recently met Martyn at the Weald of Kent Ploughing Match where he was competing in only his second ploughing match. He came a credible third in Vintage Class for Local trailed Ploughs. As a thank you to Martyn for his help with this site I have put a few photos of him and his Vintage tractors on the site under the heading "Martyn's Tractors". Keith Ennis Keith Ennis Keith and Isobel Matthews along with Mrs Dawson were particularly interested in the photo of the opening of Levetts Lane so I have put the photo and an extract from Guinness Time on the site under the heading "Bodiam Housing Association". Mrs Dawson identified several people in the photo and I would be grateful if Isobel could let me have details at some stage. Also, Isobel, if you want a copy of the photo let me know. The photo may also be of interest to John and Maggie Burgess. I'm not sure but I think John and his mum are in the photo. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Maggie for her kind comments about the site. Keith Ennis
It will take some time to make copies of the photographs and cuttings and then decide where to put them on the site. However, I have made a start and "Early Days at Bodiam" can be found under the heading "Guinness and Bodiam". Keith Ennis
The collection of photographs is coming along nicely. Firstly, I must thank Frank and Mary Macey and Vera Sims for their recent contributions. Frank and Mary have been able to put some names to faces and Vera has lent me some very interesting press cuttings from 1928 to 1936. I will try and put some of the more relevant ones on the site in the next few weeks. In going through the press cuttings I have quickly realised that I have got the title for the website wrong. Ockham and Udiam Farms are in Ewhurst Parish, not Bodiam. In fact, as soon I started looking at it more deeply I discovered (what I had always known, but not really thought about) that no village is a village in isolation but is interlinked with neighbouring villages. Just taking Bodiam, those in Peters Green had connections with Sandhurst, those at Upper Northlands and the Junction had connections with Salehurst and Hawkhurst, those in Bodiam village with Ewhurst. And, of course, Ewhurst was a large parish which took in both Staplecross and Cripps Corner. Anyway, I'm not trying to decide on a new name and Bygone Bodiam will remain. Keith Ennis
My name is Keith Ennis. I first had the idea for this site after accompanying my mother to a Guinness Hop Farms annual pensioners dinner in 2003. Attending the dinner were many Guinness pensioners, their wives, and widows of deceased pensioners. Talking to them I found there was a wealth of knowledge about Bodiam and Guinness Hop Farms. However, as time takes its toll and the numbers dwindle, the knowledge will be lost forever. This site is my attempt at recording what information I can gather and to share it with anyone who is interested. My first task was to gather what family photographs we had that depicted Bodiam and Guinness Hop Farms. I am slowly gathering more photographs and will publish as many as I can on this site. Where possible names have been put to photographs. If you know any people not named, please let me know. If you have any photographs you would like to put on the site, please contact me. Contact Keith by e-mail - click here Contact Keith by snail mail at 5 Lime Tree Close, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1LR
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