Ages in Ashtead

The cottages on Ashtead Common

In Ashtead at Easter, we set out to find the person who has lived in Ashtead the longest. Here are some of the fascinating life stories of Ashtead residents with staying power.

GLADYS JACKSON - 63 YEARS

Dear Editor,

I came to Ashtead from Co Durham in 1933, as a cook to the Rev and Mrs Austen.

I married a local boy in 1936, and have been here ever since: 63 years last April. I am a regular worshipper at St Giles.

Yours sincerely,

Gladys Jackson

(I am in my 87th year.)

DAISY WARREN - 86 YEARS

FRANK FIELD - 85 YEARS

Dear Editor,

I see in your new magazine you are asking for information as to oldest residents in Ashtead. I think perhaps myself and brother may be among the oldest. My maiden name was Daisy Field and I was born at number 7 Ashtead Common on the 25th April 1910, and when I married, I still stayed in Ashtead.

My brother, Frank, was born in the same house in 1911, and also still lives in Ashtead. We have seen a good many changes in our lifetime.

Yours sincerely,

Daisy Warren

ALICE SHACKLEFORD - 88 YEARS

Alice Shackleford (née Coleman) was born in a cottage in Ashtead Park in December 1907. Her father was a gardener at the then private mansion that is now the City Freemens School. Her family moved to Grove Road when she was 7 years old, where Alice lived until her marriage at 18 to Arthur, then a young man in the building trade who had just moved to the area. Alice and Arthur have lived in Ashtead from then to the present day through 71 years of marriage.

"Lots has changed in Ashtead. We remember horses queueing to be shoed at the Rectory Lane blacksmiths, the rayon factory that was here between the wars, and the time when Ronsons cigarette and table lighters Ashtead were famous," reminisced Arthur. Alice and Arthur have great-grandchildren in the UK, and great-great-grandchildren in the US. "Our children and their children bring us great happiness," said Arthur.

HARRIET TALBOT - 98 YEARS until early 1996

Dear Editor,

Harriet Talbot was born in a house on the Common and lived there for 88 years (when she moved 400 yards over the railway line). She never had a holiday, worked hard all her life, was very generous, and had never been to a restaurant till last year. Much loved by very many, she died early this year aged 98. Up to her last week, she could read without glasses, and could pick up a needle from the floor.

Yours sincerely,

Basil Briggs

WINIFRED POTTER - 96 YEARS

Mrs Winifred Mary Potter was born in Ashtead in 1900, and has lived here ever since. Interviewed by Vicky Watts in her home of 96 years.

Vicky: How long have you lived in Ashtead?

Mrs Potter: I've lived in Ashtead for 96 years in the same house that I was born in.

V: What is your earliest memory of Ashtead?

Mrs P: I can remember being smacked on the hand at school! I went to St Giles' School and I was there from the age of 3 years to 14 years old.

V: What did you do after you left school?

Mrs P: I left school in 1914, which was the start of the First World War and went to work in the Old Bakery in Ashtead. I used to deliver bread in their bread van, to the Marld, down Woodfield Lane, to Ashtead Common and up Oakfield Road. I started work at 8 am and finished at 5 pm.

V: What is your happiest memory of living in Ashtead?

Mrs P: Marrying my husband, Walter, in 1940 at what was then the Ashtead Free Church.

V: What has changed about Ashtead?

Mrs P: There have been so many houses built around where I live, on what used to be fields. I can still remember picking swedes from the fields and sitting in the trees and eating them.

V: What has made you stay in Ashtead?

Mrs P: It's my home and I love it. I wouldn't want to move anywhere else - except to heaven!

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