Folkestone Then & Now Guestbook

Love your site, it brings back many memories. I lived there from 1950 to the late 90's. You can hardly recognise where the old Harcourt Primary School was situated with all the new building works at Pent Valley.

Thank you for the photos posted on your website Christine, they bring back many memories - but only from the 50s onwards.

I lived in Cheriton till the late seventies then moved to Thanet. In 1996 I moved with my family to the USA. The website brings back many happy memories. I went to All Souls Primary then Harcourt Secondary till 1968.

Hi,

I'd just like to point out that the fourth photo in The Hills section isn't of Ceasar's Camp at all, but is taken from Ceasar's Camp across the reservoirs westward toward the North Downs. The hills are north of the reservoirs, which would be to the right of the view in the photo.

Also, the hill in the photo entitled Flat Hill Adjoining Ceasar's Camp is Round Hill, through which the road tunnels you mention elsewhere in the section pass

Love your site.

Kind regards,

Dave.

My grandad was born in East st (harbour)to a large fishing family but sadly no longer with us.
He had many books of Folkestone and new hundreds of people over the years,he would have loved to have looked at this well documented and put together web site,I to have found this to be of great interest and fascinating look bk in time.congratulations on A professional And well thought out yesteryear folkestone site.

Just rediscovered this site (it keeps moving). The photos bring back wonderful memories.

I lived in Folkestone from 1954 until 1966 but my parents lived there until about 1989 so obviously I visited.

Attended Christ Church primary and the Harvey.

I have good memories of church road and the C W G hall which was next to the magic also remember Fortuna and sunshine cafe's

Hi there,

I find your site very interesting for anyone curious to learn about the history of Folkestone.

I have a query about a residential building : No 80 Bouverie Road West.

Amongst all the other buildings of the same street, this is the only one (re) built without the traditional bay windows.

The reason for that as stated by current owners is that the building was bombed in WWII

Could anyone give me some more information regarding the circumstances of this bombing? Date, scale of the damages, casualties and when was it re-built and why rebuilt without a bay window?

I would be grateful for any information supplied

The top photograph of Mundela Primary shows my father, he is the little lad with the white bandage on his head. I'm guessing the year would have been about 1927/8 as he was born in 1923

My Great Grand Uncle Arthur Edward Potten is listed as died on 5th oct 1940 he was a special police man on/off duty from at the time in air raids wonder if anyone knew anymore info

Hi i am trying to trace old bikers from the Sunshine cafe in cheriton high street in 1963 to 1970

My family holidayed in Folkestone in 1966. Here is a picture of me with my mother. How's that for a salute?
I have a clip of 8mm cine film converted to digital if you're interested.

Ps from yesterday and correction re not noticed error in typing . It was of course Miss Blayney , the English teacher at Harcourt School and she was quite inspirational , also Miss Main the Geography teacher. She lived along the Esplanade in Sandgate . Lovely to read others memories of Folkestone and surrounding area.

I believe the crumbling Martello tower you have towards the bottom of the Hythe Page may in fact be Martello number 17, as the more recent tower you have displayed underneath is in fact martello tower 19, which is seen in the photo I have posted still standing. I'm not sure when the photo was taken though however :) Great page though, it's helping me alot with my photography research!

What a great website, and what a lot of fond memories it stirs. Like you I was raised in Cheriton (Biggins Wood Road), went to Harcourt Secondary, and now live in Canada. I can't even calculate how many times as a kid I explored the woods, fields and hills behind our house. The vacant ground, brick kiln and quarry were particularly exciting places to play in....as long as Mum didn't find out! Now of course, the whole area is beneath the Eurotunnel workings.

Thanks for the extraordinary amount of work it must have taken to compile the content of this wonderful trip down memory lane.

How lovely to see pictures of dear old Hythe. I grew up in Hythe during the 50s and early 60s and whilst born in London always call Hythe my home town. I left U.K. to live in Australia in 1966 and have only been "home" a few times over the years. I married a Cheriton Boy, Peter Scott in Perth Western Australia in 1970.
During the summer my family would spend hours on the beach, at tea time my father would walk along to the four winds cafe to get a tray of tea for us to enjoy on the beach. Tea pot, milk, sugar, cups and saucers, spoons, the works. I can still see my Dad walking back along the sea front, grinning from ear to ear, as he returned to us with his tray of refreshments. Life was so uncomplicated and simple pleasures such a joy.

hi nice site :) brings back memories :)

I have been receiving lots of error messages from this guestbook. If you have been trying to post, and are having trouble, please drop me a line at folkestonethenandnow@gmail.com and I will try to help.

I congratulate you on your excellent, informative and memory jogging website. Although my family didn't move to Folkestone until the end of 1951, when I was three years old, I always consider it as my home town. I left the area in 1967 when I enlisted into the Army.


During the period I lived in the following locations: Folkestone - Dover Road, London Street, The Bayle Steps (connection from the Old High Street to Bayle Street [If I remember there were only two houses])Cheriton Road, (close to the junction with Radnor Park West); and Hythe - West Parade,(either at the junction with Albert Road or Ormonde Road).

My schooling was at Dover Road Primary (as I always knew it until visiting this website), Christ Church Primary, and Brockhill County Secondary for Boys in Saltwood, Hythe.

I have spent many enjoyable hours looking into different facets of the website, but I feel I've only scratched the surface of the depth of information you have meticulously brought together.

Continued next post.....

Continued from above message:

I have only just become aware of your site during the early stages of my research into my younger years in the Folkestone, Hythe and Stelling Minnis area. I'm planning on writing articles on different episodes of my life there, for my personal weblog.

One of the exciting facts that I have come across within the 'Buildings' section (page 2) is the photograph of the St. Mary's National School in Dover Road. I believe it is in fact what I referred to earlier as just Dover Road Primary. In November 1951 we moved into 78 Dover Road when my parents owned the Elliot's Dairy shop; which was on the corner with Charlotte Street. The school was on the opposite side of the road. I think I used to enter school by the gate shown on the left of the picture. Unfortunately the business didn't survive so it may not be shown in your 1958 Kelly's.

A further pleasant surprise is that in the 'Hotel' section you have the photograph of the Garden House Hotel. Sometime either side of 1960 my mother worked in the hotel. I believe she was possibly in the reception/administration section.