Canewdon View Road, Ashingdon (1)
Houses my family lived in
By Patricia Rudorfer
I was born in 1937 in Rochford Hospital and my first home was "Sunnyside" the 2nd bungalow on the left after leaving Ashingdon Road. My Mum Lorna, nee Vincent, grew up in Ashingdon and went to the Primary School (she mentioned a teacher Miss Rolfe). Her father Walter Vincent and mother Emily (nee Maidment) lived at "The Beehive" where they had a small dairy herd. When Mum was in her teens she delivered milk in the neighbourhood from a churn on the handlebars of her bike. When she left school she went to work as a domestic for a Mrs Ormond.
My Dad Eric Horner lived for a short time at "Mowbray" with his parents and brothers. They were farming folk having worked farms in the Hockley, Rochford and Prittlewell areas for many years. Mum and Dad married in 1935 and Dad was bricklaying before they moved into "Sunnyside".
In 1939/40 Dad joined the army and Mum, my sister and I moved to Rayleigh. While living there, my sister and I would cycle to Ashingdon to visit our grandparents at the "Beehive" or go on the bus with Mum. Grandfather was also a lay preacher at the Pentecostal chapel in Ashingdon.
In 1955 Mum Dad and I emigrated to Australia and Grandfather stayed in Canewdon View Road for many years before moving to Clifton Road. There was one more house in C.View Rd, called "Shiloh" to which members of the Maidments visited on trips from Canada and Australia. I am visiting in June and will take a trip down memory lane.
Feedback please. Patricia Rudorfer.