Photographs which have been largely unseen for half a century or more are among those appearing in a new, richly illustrated nostalgia book by local author Nick Evans.
Concentrating on the past times of inland Thanet, his new book is entitled Away From The Coast – Stories From Thanet’s Villages and is due to be officially launched at the Minster Show on Saturday (19 July), the village’s largest event of the year.
The isle’s seaside towns are celebrated the world over but its villages, which form a hinterland away from the water’s edge are less well known. Dominant is the ancient village of Minster, (near Ramsgate) and equally historic are neighbours Monkton, Manston, St Nicholas, Sarre and Acol. Christianity arrived in Britain at Cliffsend, only three miles from Minster, while the Romans, the Danes and the Normans left their mark on the area down the centuries.
Nick said: “While sunshine, sand and kiss-me-quick may prevail at the seaside, so the villages offer a calmer haven of characterful churches, endless landscapes – if you know where to look – cricket, an occasional whist drive and perhaps even warm beer.
“At first glance it’s easy to think the villages are sleepy backwaters – but reality tells us otherwise. Many of the subjects I’ve included had a wider bearing on Thanet, such as Hill House Hospital at Minster – originally the area’s Victorian workhouse – as well as the nearby laundry which took in much of the isle’s washing, the air sea rescue helicopters of RAF Manston, royal sausage making in Sarre and the pagan ritual of hoodening.”
Along with photos from his family’s collection, Nick has been able to source pictures from Minster Parish Council’s archive and Thanet District Council’s SEAS Heritage collection of images originally taken by Cliftonville based Sunbeam Photography.
He said: “I discovered remarkable postcards of a pub parrot in Acol and some wonderful images of horse drawn ploughing near Monkton. All told there are more than 160 images set out over 112 pages, making for an evocative reminder of when life was enjoyed at a more relaxed pace.”
Tales include:
Minster Abbey
Prioress Mother Concordia was a talented artist and sculptor, her work being widely recognised throughout the Catholic church. In September 1990 she had just completed a bronze statue of ‘Our Lady of Fifth Avenue’ for a church in New York.
It took her three months to make the clay model which was then sent to Paddock Wood to be cast. Mother Concordia joined the abbey as a 25 year old novice in 1953 and became Prioress in 1984.
Her artistic works made a major financial difference to the abbey. During the 1960s, commissions for her wood carvings enabled the sisters to buy a new tractor for their farm.
Hill House Hospital, Minster
Changes in caring for older people and the steep costs of running Victorian buildings saw Hill House close forever in 1986. Patients were transferred to Ramsgate Hospital. Three years later, the demolition teams moved on site to level the old workhouse ahead of redevelopment into houses. The Isle of Thanet Gazette caught the moment the main chimney was brought down in a controlled explosion, watched by many villagers in July 1989.
Crown & Sceptre pub, Acol
During the early 1960s the Crown & Sceptre’s licensee Reg Cook owned a grey parrot which could perform tricks. The unnamed bird quickly became a celebrity and was even filmed for a British Pathé newsreel being whirled around on a pencil, and playing ball.
As these postcards of the time also show, Reg’s feathered friend was partial to a drop of beer, washed down with a shot of soda water when customers weren’t looking. Perched on his master’s finger, he could even pick up a bottle of beer by its crown cork!
GG Baxter, Sarre
Sausage and pie maker GG Baxter employed up to 250 people during its best years at its two and a half acre factory found off modern day Chantry Lane. The family run company, which held the late Queen’s Royal Warrant for its products, moved to Sarre from the City of London in 1938 when war clouds threatened, becoming the main plant by 1948.
During the early and mid 1960s GG Baxter ran a thriving business supplying retail and catering trade customers across southern England.
Monkton ploughing match
During one of Thanet’s annual ploughing matches of the 1950s there was still a chance to show off more traditional skills, as demonstrated by a ploughman with his pair of majestic heavy horses, keenly watched by a group of boys from a local school.
By the middle of the decade, out of 100 ploughs contesting the honours at the annual match – a big event for Thanet’s farming
community – only eight were being hauled by horses.
Air sea rescue at RAF Manston
In the mid 1960s a local GP was willing to be flown by Manston’s RAF air sea rescue helicopters to ships off the coast if any of their crews fell ill. This 1966 exercise proved challenging for the doctor as he was winched down to a vessel while it was bouncing off 15 feet high waves. By the end of the 1960s, the Manston service was responding to slightly more than 100 emergencies each year.
This is Nick’s 22nd book, nearly all of which have highlighted an aspect of Thanet’s nostalgic past since he wrote his first one – about Dreamland, Margate – in 2003. Ten of his books have been written during the past five years.
Away From The Coast – Stories From Thanet’s Villages are on sale at Westgate Galleria, Station Road, Westgate; Festival Framing, Minnis Bay, Birchington; Quex Barn, Birchington; St Nicholas Post Office, St Nicholas; The Spitfire Museum, Manston; No3 Cards & Gifts, York Street, Broadstairs; Ramsgate Tunnels gift shop, Ramsgate.
From Saturday 19th copies will also be on sale at Attwell’s in Minster High Street.
Produced by Bygone Publishing, the price of a copy is £13.50.
Nick will also officially launch the book at the Minster Show on July 19.
I highly recommend this new book which I was fortunate to buy direct in person from Nick Evan’s at the recent St Nicholas at Wade open gardens .
I’ve now got quite a collection of other similar themed books that Nick has written about our area and all of them interesting and got great photos of a bygone possibly a better time