Collected Memories from Members of the Billericay Society

 

At the Billericay Society meeting on 15th July 2015 members were asked to write down brief memories of Billericay for the Archive. Some have been added to the Archive in other places but these are the more general memories:

Jean Langford:

  • The town fetes / parades through the High Street to Sun Corner in 1970s/80s. I used to take part on a float annually. A different theme each year.
  • Charlie Chester opened the fete one year (I think about 1974)
  • The old garage (Hensmans) near where Frizzell House was.
  • Cottis the bakers – sawdust on the floor, the rope that divided the shop
  • The old cinema in Chapel Street
  • Jasper Layland carving outside his wooden hut in Deer Park Avenue / Norsey Road.  He carved our wooden house name sign (in 1970). We still have it. His friend Emberson – living in a genuine gypsy caravan in Crown Road. His daughter lives on the land now.

Doreen Whitaker:

  • Billericay Carnival with ‘Lady Godiva’ on  her horse!
  • Billericay Town F.C. playing for the F.A. Vase at Wembley.
  • The old Fold with Gill Freud & Co, Roger McGough, Melvyn Bragg etc. & Paco Penya.

Margaret Smith:

  • Billericay Carnival being led by Billy Foyle on his horse

Norman Hunter:

  • The old car park – before Waitrose! Our old ‘cut tru’ from Chapel St to the High St before Waitrose. The old ‘Fold’ & the public toilets and the green area with trees – not a lot of that left now!
  • A long distance view! A decent pair of binoculars to view the horizon from home and a surprise – the yacht club building at Burnham-on-Crouch – quite a distance!

Lynne Beard:

  • Lantern procession from Railway Station to Sun Corner Dec 31st 1999 – singing songs from various decades

Lesley Humphries:

  • Hospital Fete at Sun Corner

Suzanne Bremner:

  • Catching the 6.35am train from Billericay station every working day for five long years – what a nightmare! Then retiring and not having to do it anymore – bliss!

Jean Harding:

  • I think it is sad that when a property is sold it is then developed to look like large square boxes all the same.
  • I used to enjoy taking my grandsons to Lake Meadows when they were younger. It is still a nice park, as is Billericay.

Margaret Fuller:

  • 1940’s & 1950’s: Coming to Billericay from Ilford to visit relations. We regarded this as visiting the country!!

Margaret Popperwell:

  • Each time I return to Billericay from holiday I am impressed that this corner of Essex is so green, well kept and things are constantly being improved in comparison to much of east London!!

 

 

 

 

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  • It was lovely to read Jean Langford’s piece about Jasper Layland , was this my grandmothers younger brother or his son who had a shop and rode a penny farthing bicycle, I would love to know more about him.
    What year would this be?

    By Pam Royle (20/03/2022)
  • I only used that pub once many years ago. The daughter of a former girl I went to school with (Mary Fay) worked there and she told me where her mum lived. It was very close so I popped in to see Mary who I had not seen since I left Gt Burstead in about 1958. Sadly I learnt that a few years later Mary died.

    By robert Howard (22/03/2021)
  • Unfortunately this is one of the well known buildings that we do not have a photo of. Is there anyone who has a photograph of the Burstead Plough on the corner of Hickstars Lane?

    By Editor (20/03/2021)
  • I used to live in South Green in the 1980’s i used to work in the Burstead Plough pub then wine bar, so sad it was knocked down. Are there any photographs of the building as searched and can’t find any?

    By Amanda Jones (20/03/2021)

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