Curiosities of the Crays
Curiosities of Orpington
Here is some information about our two new local history history books published in October 2023. The companion volumes Curiosities of the Crays and Curiosities of Orpington are priced £2.95 each. Copies can be purchased at the Croft Tea Room, 263 High Street St Mary Cray or via e-mail enquirycray150@gmail.com.
Curiosities of Orpington
Here is some information about our two new local history history books published in October 2023. The companion volumes Curiosities of the Crays and Curiosities of Orpington are priced £2.95 each. Copies can be purchased at the Croft Tea Room, 263 High Street St Mary Cray or via e-mail enquirycray150@gmail.com.
Inside our Curiosities of the Crays book Richard Bowdery has penned a fascinating social history of his sixty years of living in the Crays. He explains that on first arrival it felt like a move from town to countryside. He describes the changes that he has seen and he contrasts the modern-day Crays with the place that he knew when growing up as a child.
This short extract is the opening part of Richard's story.
Peckham, home to the Trotters, Del, Rodney, Grandad and Uncle Albert, was also where I took my bow into the world.
Life was two first floor rooms in a terraced house. A kitchenette and a living room which morphed into a bedroom when day turned to night. A double bed for mum and dad with a cot for me. All very bijou without the elegance.
Unfortunately there was a lack of an indoor convenience The lav (toilet for those unfamiliar with the vernacular) was down the stairs, through the kitchen and out into a small backyard. Its location was bad enough in the summer months traipsing all that way through the house to answer nature’s call. But in the cold, dark winter nights with only sheets of a daily newspaper to amuse oneself with, prior to use, well it was positively arcane.
Bad as it was the lav’s location wasn’t the main reason for upping sticks and moving on. My mum and dad wanted to give me a playmate. So my dad contacted Orpington Urban District Council (who were responsible for housing in the Crays in the 1950s) and presented his case for rented accommodation.
Why the Crays? My paternal grandparents lived in the area and my maternal grandparents lived a few mile up the road in Sidcup. And so in January 1959 we pitched up at 3 Lockesley Drive, in the Poverest area of St Mary Cray.
I was too young to gauge my parents’ reaction but I can imagine they were ecstatic. Okay it was a council house but it was a three bedroom semi-detached council house with living room, dining room, kitchen and front and back garden. But the piece de resistance was the indoor toilet! No more having my bum frozen to a potty in sub-zero temperatures.
There was however one ever so small snag — the house’s lack of heat. There was an electric fire in the dining room but only an open hearth in the living room with no coal to fill it. Coal was hard to come by. Don’t forget this was only eleven years after the end of World War Two. Rationing was still part and parcel of everyday life. In fact during a particularly cold snap ice formed on the windows, on the inside. But we were made of sterner stuff in those days.
Heating issues aside we felt like lords of the manor having moved from two rooms into a palace. Not quite Buck House. Nonetheless we couldn’t believe our luck. Strictly speaking my parents couldn’t believe their luck. I was too young to think about much more than when my next meal was due.
Thus began my life in the Crays ...
Richard DJJ Bowdery
Published Poet and Prose Writer
My website: richardbowderywriter@wordpress.com
This short extract is the opening part of Richard's story.
Peckham, home to the Trotters, Del, Rodney, Grandad and Uncle Albert, was also where I took my bow into the world.
Life was two first floor rooms in a terraced house. A kitchenette and a living room which morphed into a bedroom when day turned to night. A double bed for mum and dad with a cot for me. All very bijou without the elegance.
Unfortunately there was a lack of an indoor convenience The lav (toilet for those unfamiliar with the vernacular) was down the stairs, through the kitchen and out into a small backyard. Its location was bad enough in the summer months traipsing all that way through the house to answer nature’s call. But in the cold, dark winter nights with only sheets of a daily newspaper to amuse oneself with, prior to use, well it was positively arcane.
Bad as it was the lav’s location wasn’t the main reason for upping sticks and moving on. My mum and dad wanted to give me a playmate. So my dad contacted Orpington Urban District Council (who were responsible for housing in the Crays in the 1950s) and presented his case for rented accommodation.
Why the Crays? My paternal grandparents lived in the area and my maternal grandparents lived a few mile up the road in Sidcup. And so in January 1959 we pitched up at 3 Lockesley Drive, in the Poverest area of St Mary Cray.
I was too young to gauge my parents’ reaction but I can imagine they were ecstatic. Okay it was a council house but it was a three bedroom semi-detached council house with living room, dining room, kitchen and front and back garden. But the piece de resistance was the indoor toilet! No more having my bum frozen to a potty in sub-zero temperatures.
There was however one ever so small snag — the house’s lack of heat. There was an electric fire in the dining room but only an open hearth in the living room with no coal to fill it. Coal was hard to come by. Don’t forget this was only eleven years after the end of World War Two. Rationing was still part and parcel of everyday life. In fact during a particularly cold snap ice formed on the windows, on the inside. But we were made of sterner stuff in those days.
Heating issues aside we felt like lords of the manor having moved from two rooms into a palace. Not quite Buck House. Nonetheless we couldn’t believe our luck. Strictly speaking my parents couldn’t believe their luck. I was too young to think about much more than when my next meal was due.
Thus began my life in the Crays ...
Richard DJJ Bowdery
Published Poet and Prose Writer
My website: richardbowderywriter@wordpress.com
At the book launch on 11th October we were delighted to hear Cray 150 reader Geraldine Ann Ford recite her lovely poem entitled Foots Cray Meadows.
What beauty in a meadow, while walking in peaceful mode.
Daisies in clusters, buttercups in pervading groups,
Dandelions springing up in every available space.
What noise in a meadow.
I crave tranquillity.
Meadow flowers appease me, people aggravate, machines blaring out, dogs barking, children shrieking.
What peace in a meadow, as humans disappear, to clusters, groups, springing up in every available space.
Daisies, buttercups, dandelions nodding away the day.
Geraldine Ann Ford, 2000.
For details of Geraldine's published books please find her on Google.
What beauty in a meadow, while walking in peaceful mode.
Daisies in clusters, buttercups in pervading groups,
Dandelions springing up in every available space.
What noise in a meadow.
I crave tranquillity.
Meadow flowers appease me, people aggravate, machines blaring out, dogs barking, children shrieking.
What peace in a meadow, as humans disappear, to clusters, groups, springing up in every available space.
Daisies, buttercups, dandelions nodding away the day.
Geraldine Ann Ford, 2000.
For details of Geraldine's published books please find her on Google.
Inside our Curiosities of Orpington book you'll find mention of famous people that have lived in or have memorably visited the town, ranging from Queen Mary; household name BBC radio and television presenters and scriptwriters; and famous sportsmen or sportswomen; - to name but a few.
Perhaps one of the most 'curious' stories concerns C.B. Fry the superstar Victorian and Edwardian sportsman who excelled at athletics, cricket and football. He was so popular and famous that the country of Albania asked him to come and be their King! He declined the offer. This paved the way for Albania to give the crown instead to the gloriously named King Zog!
Photos below are from the book launch event on 11th October 2023.
Perhaps one of the most 'curious' stories concerns C.B. Fry the superstar Victorian and Edwardian sportsman who excelled at athletics, cricket and football. He was so popular and famous that the country of Albania asked him to come and be their King! He declined the offer. This paved the way for Albania to give the crown instead to the gloriously named King Zog!
Photos below are from the book launch event on 11th October 2023.
