Wickford Plotlands
From the collection of Mrs Iris Logan
This photo of “Thark”, is a property my parents rented in 1940, having had to leave London over the bombing. The property was then owned by a Mr Northcott and must have been installed in 1920/30. It is in Sugden Avenue, situated on the right hand side near the river. It needed to be built on stilts as the area flooded at times during winter, wet months.
This picture is of “St Annes”, a property built and owned by Mr William and Mrs Sarrah (Anne) Roberts. It was situated in Southbourne Grove, on the right hand side. My uncle, Mr Roberts, bought several plots of land (about £10.00 a plot) to bring his Scout troop camping. Eventually he decided to build this bungalow in the early 193s. During the war years, the authorities allowed people to live in these properties other than at weekends and holidays. The bungalow was raised on concrete blocks and was lined with asbestos (fireproofing and insulation).
As a result of the landing of a V.2. rocket at the corner of Sugden Avenue, properties were allowed to be rebuilt of brick, and you will find that “St Annes” is now a rather nice property.
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My father purchased three plots in Carlton Road, Wickford, in the 1930s for about £30 and the family built a wooden chalet-type bungalow. As we lived in a flat in Fulham it was used for holidays but when the war finished I had to start school at the age of six. My mother liked gardening so we lived at the bungalow and I attended St George’s School. We went to the flat for week-ends/holidays. Then when I was 15 we moved back to Fulham where work was plentiful. I went into photography and photo finishing. We sold the bungalow to a builder about five years later and he put terraced bungalows on the site.
Wickford and Runwell were all plotlands.I remember in the early 1940s the land around had lots of small buildings, some shabby sheds some exotic summer houses with verandas, where people came down from the city for weekends after the war.But during the war they were dragged to the side of fields to make room for growing food ( dig for victory).I remember this as a young child,and after the war people knocked on my parents door for water at the weekends, there were lovely fruit trees that never ever met there owners after the war , people bombed out in the city, deeds lost, family not knowing what there relations owned, what a loss.
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