old town

Playland postcard – Old Town Hastings

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Helena Wojtczak. Hastings & St Leonards History Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/hastingshistory

Alan Esdaile… Wonderful. Looks like early 50’s?

Ju-ju Davies…There used to be two carnivals and fairs, one fair was on the oval and the carnival went through the town and the other fair would be on the beach where the Stade is and the carnival would be through the old town.

Lisa Lucas… yes those were the days!

Jacqueline Patton… Looks much more fun . Where is David Essex in this photo

Alan Esdaile… Jacqueline, He’s probably off on his silver dream machine.

Keith Veness… Remember going there in the late 50s

Harry Randall… Yes you can clearly see the old RNLI building

Peter Ellingworth… Definitely no later than early to mid fifties I would think. Regarding the old RNLI boat house, my father worked on the replacement around 1964 and got to know many of the old town characters. The somewhat shabby shed/hut in the bottom right may well be something to do with the miniature railway, which at that time terminated opposite the lifeboat House.

Peter Brazier… I remember it in the early 60’s. It’s a bit further along from where the Stade is now, between the miniature railway and the harbour arm

The Dog-House Hamburger Bar and Hotdogs. Marine Parade Hastings 17th July 1964.

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photo © Hastings Museum & Art Gallery  https://www.facebook.com/hastingsmuseum

John Gale… I remember eating cheese burgers from there after Saturdays in the very early 80s . Might have been a different owner then but was the same kiosk . Still there of course , but specialising in Crab Pasties these days ( how things have changed) ..and associated with the Albion I believe.

Graham Sherrington… still there wow!!!!

Coral Pasqua… I loved the burgers in the 70s

Samantha Fox – Saturdays Night Club around 1986

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photo Keith Tooke

Peter Pursglove… I remember that

Tony Qunta… What hand?!

Pete Shaw… Can’t see either hand…still focusing….ayah…no..that’s not a hand…let me check again….well….I’ll try again later…mmm

Alan Esdaile… She does not look very happy.

Sarah Harvey… Knowing how big Sam Fox was in those days, whoever’s hand that is must have the biggest hands ever!

Monica Bane… Remember her eyeing up my son in Earls Court, he was doing the advert for Lee Cooper Jeans !

Tony Court-holmes… what a fine looking young lady

Jez… My Friends Dane and Dave and I went to Sam’s place back in the middle 80’s (Maybe even ’86). Went there by Cab from ‘Sarf’ London and I don’t think we even went in the club once we realised that we wouldn’t get to see Sam. Cost us a small fortune!

Malcolm McDonald… I took one that night, for this girl. She asked me to get her photo, so stood on side of the booth, said,Sam, she turned round, smiled and got one…

Stuart Moir… Travelled to London “Val Bonn Studios” with Ray Fenwick to do backing vocals for one of her records, Colin Fox was chatting her up and said she wouldn’t have to change her name if she married him

Colin Fox… Stu, I didn’t chat her up, Ray wanted me to make her laugh as she was nervous.

 

 

First In and Last Out (Filo) and buses High Street, Old Town, Hastings.

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Photo: Peter John Morris. British Roadscene https://www.facebook.com/groups/496289463761461

Peter John Morris… Hastings in Trolleybus days

Chris Meachen… I remember buses coming the other way having to mount the pavement. Almost hard to believe that this was a 2 way street, & the main road through the old town..

Tony Court-holmes… used to live at 103a

Linda Gowans… An elderly fisherman told me (in about 1960) that you should have seen the traffic jams with horse-drawn waggons in the High Street!

Steve Hamilton… 52a here! Vague recollection of buses and arguments on the road. Arguments still around today no doubt!

Mick O’Dowd… Its hard to think High Street was two-way. I know there were a lot of close calls but nothing too serious I recall!

Claire Lonsdale… And there’s my old house on the right. Lived there for 17 years.

Peter Ellingworth… Photo taken in 1955 I believe, possibly the same day as the Pump House one shown previously. The guy that took it has this on the Historical Hastings site with an explanation. Unfortunately I can’t quite see the TB reg no., or from my records I could see what happened to this particular TB after closure of the Hastings system in 1959. Am I correct for the TBuses, at least in latter years, there was a traffic light control system for one vehicle only at a time working at each end of the High Street automatically activated by passage of the buses themselves?

Staff Of Phototrade – Tackleway Hastings 1960

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supplied by Antony ‘Nan’ Morland

L to R: Antony ‘Nan’ Morland, Jenny?, Tony Pearson, Pete Sutton, Phil Hersee.

Antony ‘Nan’ Morland… Phototrade was a developing and print works in Tackleway and owned by Gifford Boyds.

Lloyd Johnson… I remember Phil Hersee well ,he was in my class at Priory road….in 1964 I developed and printed the films for Gifford Boyd in The Chapel( his Studio ) in Tackleway…

Chris Baker… We lived next door to the Hersee family. Phil let me try his bow and arrow one day. Very difficult for me to pull back, being a weedy young lad! That building on the left was used by Gifford Boyd as a photo processing plant. I worked there for a season processing photos in glorious black and white! Sad to say I can’t remember the names of my two colleagues! (One male, one female).

Ian Hersee… Phil went on to be a world class photographer in Vancouver – sadly no longer with us.

Monica Bane… Ian, my darling brother Phil! Died 2013. God bless him! Still taking photos I bet.

Chris Baker… Ian, Amazed at how much a young Phil looks like you!

Amber Turner… Phil so young there. Loved Tackleway and dear Charles’s place next door x

Laurens Michele… The one on the left is coming out of the wall

Hi-Fi Restaurant and Discotheque – High Street Hastings 1970’s

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Alan Esdaile… I can smell Disque Bleu by just looking at the photo! Well I think that’s what I can smell?

Martyn Baker… Owned by Guy?

Peter Thomson… Is that a cheese?

Patricia Wapshott… I remember that place but can’t remember who ran it , think he was called Guy and his flat above was so cool , he had a sunken bed and a vast record collection , my friend Camille was seeing him and that’s how I got to see the flat . We sat and listened to David Bowie albums while he smoked a joint and I must have been about 15 then and didn’t even know what a joint was ! I just remember that it smelt disgusting and politely said no when he offered it to me that was also smelt incense sticks burning . The innocence of my youth !

Gin Genie… Guy still drinks in the Nelson on a Monday night playing shove

Will Hadfield… I think this is where people hung out in a disco downstairs owned by a bloke called guy or max

Pete Brazier… Didn’t it become the cheese emporium? Probably the Swiss blue what you thought you could smell lol

Chris Baker… Played downstairs a few times. Usually with our electrics swimming in the mix of beer and “toilet water” and getting shocks off the Mike’s and my guitar! Health & Safety? What’s that?

Jim Hobbs…. How about old beer and cigarettes.

Angela Frances Gardner… When Chico had the Jamaican restaurant on the ground floor selling ackee and salt fish

Martin Richter… disque bleu ? you crazy beatniks

Andy Qunta…  Fond memories of this place!

John McCallion… I remember it well Alan, .It’s where I auditioned with Steve D, Paul Dove and Paul Wiseman to form Muller

John Busbridge… Disco was downstairs, used to go there!

Jemma Yasmin… What a lovely building I never knew what was here it’s been a building site as long as I can remember …. do you know when and why it burnt down? With the downstairs of Fagins and this what an amazing place the old town would have been at this time?

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Capels Restaurant and Upstairs Niteclub Old Town Hastings – 1980’s advert

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Reid McDuffie… I really liked that place

Sheila Maile… Went there as a nite club in 80s

Malcolm McDonald… That was a shame when it went, it was great

Elaine Stock… I went here a couple of times when on holiday, really liked it!

Coral Pasqua… Had some good nights in the night club .

Gary Benton… I was the chef here when it first opened. John Shrive and Colin Cotton owned it. The large steaks were the most popular. 1kg t-bone especially. I also worked at Valentinos in All Saints St and The Mitre which is now Porters.

Wendy Weaver… Great place. I went on Carnival night when the disco was on Winkle Island.

Tony Court-holmes… drank in there a lot loved it

Tony May… I did one night at ‘Upstairs’ filling in for Phil Hall. Had a close shave that night as a BIG hairy biker wanted me to play ‘Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing but I was having to use my records not Phil’s and I didn’t have it with me. The biker thought I was deliberately choosing not to play it …until I offered to strum it out and hum it for him on a guitar if he liked! (lol)

Who remembers the Coach Park and Uncle Tom’s Cabin – The Stade Hastings early 50’s

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supplied by Keith Hayes Facebook Hastings & St Leonards Pictures & Videos 

Peter Houghton… Yes it was nice to see all the coaches down there and Uncle Tom’s Cabin was always busy in the summer

Tony Court-holmes… happy days then the bastards took away the coach park

Virginia Davis… I remember the fair being there during Old Town week every year in the 70s

Wendy Weaver… The usual mismanagement.

Jack Apps… The Wishing Well aaaaah

Merv Kennard… the mine.

Peter Higgs… my nan owned Toms Cabin in the early 70s . Margaret Cook Galloway

Eric Harmer… was a gas apprentice then and put the gas pipes in there with old towner Jimmy Curtis

Glen Aylard… The Day’s When you could park in Hastings Old Town

Mick O’Dowd… The days when the Council used to ENCOURAGE visitors especially in coaches!

Alan Esdaile… look how many coaches!

Mick O’Dowd… What’s the word for a lot of coaches? A cluster maybe?

Stuart Moir… Exactly, the decision to stop coach and bus parking on the Stade was the killer for all the old town businesses.

David Kent… Are you sure all those coaches weren’t there because they had broken down?

Mary Cooke (Tippins)… I served the rock and ice creams 1968.

Peter Ellingworth… Does anybody remember the old 10 & 1/4″ (26 cm gauge ) miniature railway at The Stade run by Jim “JBH” Hughes, on behalf of the owners Ian Allan the well known transport publishers of Shepperton ? There were originally three steamers: ‘Firefly’ which was sold on to Kerr’s miniature railway in Scotland ( recently closed), ‘Hampton Court’ sold on to Lord Gretton’s miniature railway which is open to the public in Northamptonshire, and the ‘Royal Scot’ sold on privately ( now replaced with another new identical). ‘JBH’ lived exactly five miles from the town centre at an aptly named bungalow called “Five Miles”. Myself and a school friend had a look at his extensive workshop once, as we used to help out on the railway school holidays early ‘sixties.

Eric Harmer… I was a gas board apprentice With old towner jimmy ? We put the gas pipes in Uncle Toms Cabin in the early 70s

Reid McDuffie… I mostly remember the reek of diesel fumes

The Blue Saloon Chip shop Old Town Hastings 1970’s

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photo: Hastings Museum & Art Gallery https://www.facebook.com/hastingsmuseum

The Blue Saloon chip shop. c.1970s

Paul Cullen… Best chip shop when George had it

Jacqueline Marsh… That was my grand dad’s fish n chip shop back in the 40’s – 50’s. Bill Shirley he went on to have the Duke of Wellington public house known as The Silver Dollar by the old baths and wash house back of the Hastings wall. In those days the fish and chip shop had a third floor where we kids were sent when our mums worked down below. There were 5 girls and 1 son. All the girls worked at one time or other for their mum and dad. They were known as the Shirley girls and they were all very glamorous and very stylish back in the day

Graham Sherrington… Such Memories Jacqueline

Andy James Long… Is that what is now the Blue Dolphin chip shop?

Dudley Mendenhall… yep and still is I do believe, not been home for a few years now. That’s my mum and nan with my uncle Dick with me being held by nan.

Fred Marsh… I wonder why they knocked it down, was there no listing?

Tony Court-holmes… it burnt down

Jeff McCall… My grandmother worked there. Mabel Eldridge.

Peter Ellingworth… Photo from before 1971- note pre decimal money still in use then. Dates from early to mid sixties I would think.

Dudley Mendenhall… that’s about 1971-72. It’s my family

Peter Ellingworth… The UK changed over to decimal currency in mid-Feb. 1971, so I would have thought the photo was no later than that- although if you remember signage in the old currency was still displayed in some places for a time afterwards.

 

East Hill Lift postcard

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Supplied by Al Ward

Al Ward… Salmon Cameracolour postcard of East Hill Lift

Martin Richter… what car? singer? humber?

Dave Reece… Looks like a Hillman Minx??

Peter Fairless… Martin, all the Rootes cars were badge engineered, so without seeing the grill or back badge, could be Hillman,Singer or Humber

Andy Roberts… Colour scheme suggests Hillman Minx.

Colin Bell… Dad had a Hillman Minx in that colour combination

Malcolm McDonald… That dunnarf, look like me at that drinking well but probably not, about the right year and age though