AROUND MEECHING

The new fire station replaced Lorraine but there was a lane that ran up the side of the fire station and became part of a rear alley between Fort Road and Hillcrest eventually joining 'Chalky Hill', but I dont see this in the photo of Lorraine, was this added when the Fire Station was built? If so where did the alleyway lead before this or did it come to a dead end behind Lorraine?

I remember the alleyway you refer to, it was there when I was a kid during the war years, long before the fire station arrived where it is today.
The alley ran between Fort Road and Hillcrest and there was another alleyway immediately opposite which ran between Hillcrest and near to where Dr. Brooks used to live (where Gray's school is now). The Fort Road - Hillcrest alley also had another attached to it that ran behind the houses in Fort Road, and ended, as you say, in Geneva Road. Hope that helps.

The alley is in this photo. The bungalow was lived in by a school teacher and her sister, (remember their pekinese dogs and pram?). Shown here are 5 cappings on their front garden wall pillars, the curved wall goes up the alley, on the side of their garden. Lorraine's side wall can just be seen this side of the hedge. The fence is on the opposite side of the road from these properties, this photograph would have been taken from Hugget's Field.

I remember the bungalow in the picture and especially the teacher mentioned above. I think her name was Miss Wheatley and she was a teacher either at the Infants or Junior School. I remember her being a bit fierce and every time we walked past the bungalow on our way to the 'Rec' we used to run past just in case she saw us and this was on non-school days!!
Does anybody else remember her or am I being a little unfair in my recollections of her ?

The bungalow was called "Gesith". It housed Miss Doris Wheatley, who used to teach at Meeching County Juniors and was an excellent artist, and her sister, who we called "Aunt Bertha", with their two pekes, called Bill & Tiny. Their brother was Bernard Wheatley who owned the scrappy's on the Drove.

The bungalow 'Gesith' was the home of my Grandparents James and Peggy Ellis in the late 1930's and my father, Stuart Ellis was born there.

The alley which ran between Fort Road and Hillcrest Road was always called Chicks Alley (not sure if the spelling is right) when I was a child.

We called it "Chicks Lane", great place for scrumping apples as a child...LOL

Having moved to Fort Road in 1988, I don't remember "Lorraine" - but there is one house in "Lorraine Road" level with the alleyway between Fort Road and Hillcrest Road. My eldest daughter was four-and-a-half then, and I used to walk up what is referred to above as "Chicks Lane" with her, and then across Hillcrest Road and on up, to and from Grays School (and later with my other children). The bungalow at the bottom is still called "Gesith".

Lorraine was a lovely old house but very spooky, as I came to find out. It lay empty for a while prior to demolition and I had to go there to turn off the water supply and drain out the system. No electricity, not even a torch and I had to go down to the basement/cellars to turn the water off. As I was trying to circumnavigate the cobwebs and the years of junk underfoot to locate the stoptap, there was one heck of a rumble and I thought the cellar door had closed, but no, it was only a clap of thunder!!!! Now, on a lighter note, I did get to see a splendid, very old Lancaster car in the garage.

Did you mean "Lanchester Car" NOT Lancaster?

Richard, Editor

I remember Miss Wheatley. She taught me in the Junior school. She wore a fur coat which my mother thought was Musquash. With some envy perhaps!

Hi Richard, yes I did mean a Lanchester car, must have been thinking about an aircraft at the time.

Thanks for the picture of Lorraine. I fantasised about living in a house like that when I was a teenager - a bedroom with a corner turret like that was my idea of heaven! A great shame that Newhaven's best house was demolished to make way for a fire station. And I also have fond memories of Miss Wheatley -she was my form teacher in the first year of Junior school. Yes she was fierce and always kept a pile of wooden rulers in her desk which came out to rap the knuckles of anyone who misbehaved. but she taught me a lot and shouldn't be judged too harshly as she was of her time and other teachers behaved similarly.

I worked on the construction of the Fire Station, must have been mid to late 60s for Bannisters Builders. It would have been just after they relocated from the High Street to the Quarry. Does anyone have any photos of Bannisters Builders when it was based in the High Street ?

It doesn't surprise me that " Lorraine " was demolished. Isn't that what has happened successively over the last three generations with all the lovely houses of character and individuality? Still, at least it was spared the ignominy of being converted into 10 compact flats.