GWENDOBO

Dave Whiffen has given you one scenario re Smith's Farm I will give you another. Today's Hullbridge at the time you are talking about was split in two. Hullbridge itself was a community down by the river and High Elms was near High Elms and Malyons Farms. Malyons Farm was approach by very tall Elm trees and at the time you are referring to owned and run by the Smith family until it was purchased by the Beckwith family. You can read more about this in the Memories of Ken Beckwith here. http://hullbridgevillage.co.uk/Hullmem_Kbeck.html . Best Wishes Gary Congram (Hullbridge Historian)

Dave Whiffin has given you one feasible option another is that Malyons Farm was then owned and run by the father of a local teacher Mrs Ida Street (nee Smith). The Smith family owned the farm till 1937. You can read more about this here: http://www.hullbridgevillage.co.uk/Hullmem_Kbeck.html

My Grandparents bought 3 plots of land in the late 1920's in Burnham Road, Hullbridge. Initially they used it as a weekend retreat travelling from London, but in 1930 built a permanent house there which was not much more that a wooden shed to start with but over the years was extended. I remember it well in the late 1940's. My grandfather named it over a hill he fought over in Gallipoli in WW1. All of the surrounding roads were just grass tracks with just a few other wooden houses dotted about, water and gas was laid on but that was all, electricity was laid on in the late fifties. I remember the road being laid in the mid sixties, I believe each household had to contribute something towards it, which is why it is only single lane with passing points.

I may be able to shed a little light on the question of "Smith's Farm". The following information was obtained from the memories of the late Harry R. Wright who was a life long resident of Hullbridge.

During the 1920's/30's Montague House (now the Simla Restaurant) was owned by a Mr and Mrs Smith. Their garden, mostly given over to orchard was very extensive, stretching some distance along Ferry Road.

You could not call the Smith's property a farm by any means, it was more in the nature of a small holding. They used to sell their garden produce outside the house to passers by.

There is a pretty comprensive article about plotlands on our sister site at Laindon. This was written by Ian Mott who sadly is no longer with us. Click the following link to go to the article:

http://www.laindonhistory.org.uk/page_id__391.aspx

I visited the plotland museum and nature reserve at Dunton some years ago and recall that you could buy booklets and other information there.

From the comments the plotlands are a known feature of the area, though now built over. Is there a source I can access giving some general history/information about them?

The plotland area where Mike's family had their home has completely disappeared now and been replaced with mostly large, detached homes. When I lived in Hullbridge in the late 1960s/early 1970s the pre-war homes were more or less as originally constructed. It was a small area of unmade grass tracks leading off The Drive towards the river Crouch. The small wood and breeze block buildings were constructed on each side of the track. Each property had a large area of land around it and most had a verandha built on the sunny side. It always seemed a wonderful carefree place to live when I visited friends who, I think, lived in The Walk. Lovely in the summer but maybe less so in winter.

I am pleased that the path along the riverbank towards Battlesbridge is still there and a small area of grass and woodland where some of the country atmosphere still remains.