Tales from the Postcards

TalespostcardsABoy on Beach

Impressions of Shoreham and life 100 years ago by the writers of the old postcards

Shoreham’s early postcards were photographed and produced by a number of different people, the best known of them being W.Page of East Street, William Winton and his son who produced his cards at their printing works in Middle Street and sold them from their shops in the High Street and Brunswick Road, and Frank Rowe who developed and printed his photographs in the cellars of his shop at 18, High Street. Most people looking through collections of old postcards are attracted by the photo or view shown on the fronts – some however are equally interested in the messages on the reverse.

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Bungalow Town and the Beach at Shoreham between the Wars

Bailey Bungalow

The reminiscences of Bessie Bailey and her daughter Peggy.

Foreword: – In the early 1920’s much of the Beach was still undeveloped and the bungalows and houses that were there were spread along the seafront with little or nothing behind except in Ferry Road. There was no electricity, gas, or mains drainage; water was brought from the mainland in a large zinc cistern and sold at 2p a bucket to supplement the rainwater collected in storage tanks. The houses were given bizarre names rather than numbers.

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A Bygone Shoreham Beach

WRITTEN BY ANDY RAMUS

Living on Shoreham Beach as a child, you kinda felt like you owned the world sometimes, stood on the beach where all that changed was the position of the shingle, sometimes banked right up so high that it near buried the old wooden breakwaters, and then other days the sea would pull the shingle back so far as to expose, what then as a child, seemed like mighty tree turrets, or Queens Guards all neatly lined up.

 

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Along the Beach at Bungalow Town

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Along the Beach at Bungalow Town.

Ever wondered where those bungalows pictured in Shoreham’s old postcards were? Relive the view our predecessors saw and even meet them by joining our celebrated Shoreham Time Walks. See those wooden structures as they once were, some little more than simple wood and corrugated iron shacks, others extravagant and imaginative in design. Those wishing to participate should present themselves promptly at 1pm at the east end of Widewater on Saturday 10th August in any year between 1900 and 1920………………………. Continue reading “Along the Beach at Bungalow Town”

Blockade Coastguard Station

Description: Blockhouse Beach Lawns Blockhouse

THE BLOCKADE/COASTGUARD STATION AT SHOREHAM

The Blockade (or “Preventative”) Service was created in 1817 following the country’s huge loss of revenue due to what was then considered by some to be a lack of success by the Customs and Revenue Services in coping with the smuggling problem. It is perhaps unfair to lay the blame for this entirely upon them as, amongst other things, we know that manpower was short compared with the smuggling gangs they came up against; pay was poor and even the ships they used were invariably slower and less well armed than the smugglers’ own vessels. Continue reading “Blockade Coastguard Station”