My paternal grandfather, Rennie Leslie Collins, moved to Truggers Farm, Chiddingstone Hoath with his wife Louie (Louise Helen Fanner) in the 1930's where he farmed the land and raised his three children, Philip, Margaret and Roger (my father). There is a picture of Truggers Farm House here on my biography page.
I was fortunate in being able to purchase this old postcard on e-Bay. It shows the view from the top of Rock Hill looking down towards Rock Corner where is situated The Rock Inn public house. Truggers Lane, where my grandfather's farm was located, turned off left from this road opposite the buildings that can be seen.
This view was taken a few decades later and is number 51064 in a series by E A Sweetman - it shows a closer view of the houses in the 1950s.
This view is from a postcard posted in 1919, so I expect it dates from around 1915, and shows the view of Rock corner from Hilly Field. This field is now overgrown with silver birch trees and scrub, and a similar view today is not possible. I guess it must be winter judging by the amount of smoke coming from the chimneys!
The picture below was taken by my Uncle, Philip Collins, and although is a little blurred, does give a good idea of the view from the attic window of Truggers Farm back up towards Rock Corner in the 1940s. The area where the allotments are is now completely overgrown and this view would be very different, even though the buildings remain much the same.
This is another of my Uncles photographs from the same period and shows Rock Corner from atop the rocks themselves. The junction with Truggers lane and the old fashioned signpost are clearly visible. The houses are easily identifiable as the same ones as in the above photos.
This picture was taken on 6th July 2003. The trees have grown somewhat making a replica of the earlier views impossible, however it still makes an interesting comparison.
Click here for an old postcard image of the old school in the woods at Chiddingstone Hoath. My father and his siblings went to school here, and indeed I too went to Sunday school here as a child. My aunt, Margaret Butcher, has written an interesting article about her time at the school.
And finally, this is the oldest photograph I've seen of Rock Corner, a photo which is in the possession of my Aunt, Margaret Butcher, inherited by her from Reginald Butcher. Sadly the image has suffered a little through time, but I reckon the date must be late C19th, as the houses are clearly earlier than those above, and due to the horse drawn vehicles. I wonder who the man with the wheelbarrow is? A drawing from the same location in a magazine article of 1891 has a very similar view.
Scanned antique postcards and photographs
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