We’ve seen the black & white photos of the Kingston 18th century buildings and others at the time of their demolishing but here are a few coloured snaps that despite their dilapidated condition look almost attractive due to the colouring. Some will remember the café, a convenient rendezvous spot for local bikers due to the ample parking in the gap between it and the Kingston Inn.
The café premises at 140 had once been Kingston-by-Sea sub-Post Office, from about 1930 to the early war years, combined with a grocers shop.
The Kingston Inn, at 142, used to display a figure of Long John Silver outside.
Photos Sussex Archaeological Society and Peter Weaver.
Amongst the detritus at Kingston wharf was this contraption and manufacturer’s plate. A quick google tells us Pooley & Son was an iron foundry that eventually specialized in weighing machines for all sizes of equipment and particularly for weighing railway locomotives, carriages and wagons. Many still exist especially on preserved railway societies. The company was acquired by the Avery Group of companies another perhaps better known weighing machine manufacturer of more recent years.
Perhaps this was a weighing machine for the coal and coke carried in the wagons offloaded from ships at the wharf?
Notes in Peter Bloomfield’s research:-
On a visit to the north side of the sidings just before the bridge was demolished a wagon weighbridge was found. It was on the siding track between where the line turned to go under the bridge and Eastern Avenue. It was obviously part of the 1938 rebuilding as the markings were:-
1052 Pooley 1938
Birmingham – England