A Childhood in Hankham
In 1956 Westham & Hankham Women’s Institute took part in an annual county story competition with an essay containing a number of recollections by 75 year old resident Rose Churcher. Entitled Memoirs of Westham and Hankham, the account largely focused on Westham, but the references to Hankham - presented here - provide a fascinating insight into life in our village over a century ago….
Rose Churcher was six weeks old when her parents moved to Barns Cottage, Stone Cross, and as a pupil at Hankham School, she spent much of her life in the village.
Born in 1881, she said that at that time there was no official local midwife – that didn’t happen until after WWI. Expectant mothers relied on the willing services of ‘Grannie’ Breech who lived in Hankham with her husband who was a shepherd. In the village it was said he looked after the ewes and lambs and Grannie looked after the babies! She used to say that she “followed the doctor”, but more often than not she was there before him. In those days the nearest doctor lived in Eastbourne which meant that husbands had a long way to go to fetch the doctor who would make the 4 mile journey along rough and stony lanes by pony and trap or bicycle.
“There were no motor car owners in Hankham. Carriages drawn by pairs of well-groomed horses were a common sight – and one Candidate at the General Election in 1906 was often seen driving a coach with four in hand,” she recalled.
Emphasising how cut-off villages like Hankham was is those days, Rose said: “A bus called a Huckster used to run from Herstmonceux to Eastbourne via Stone Cross once a week carrying parcels, crates of chickens etc., and you could travel inside to Eastbourne for 6d (2.5p). No daily papers were delivered and the postman used to walk out from Eastbourne via Friday Street, Stone Cross and Polegate Road (then known as Daisy Lane) and catch the train back from Polegate Station,”
Among her early memories was buying home-made sweets – 6 inch sugar sticks costing 4 a penny - at the shop in Hankham Street. In the winter, the children kept warm trundling hoops to school – wooden ones for the girls and iron for the boys. They played hopscotch, marbles and skipping and in the winter at home they rolled back the carpet and played marbles indoors. No toys were allowed on Sundays, but in the summer Rose’s father took the family for evening walks in the woods and in the winter the family gathered together to sing hymns.
Recalling mealtimes, she said: “One of my favourite dinners was Sheep’s Jimmy, a sheep’s head with liver, lights and tubes - all intact - boiled with dumplings and turnips. The lights were given to the cat and the total cost was about 1/6d (7.5p).”
Due to family sickness Rose left Hankham School aged 10 and stayed at home to look after her younger brothers and sisters. There was always plenty to do around the house and if there was a summer drought she and her brother would have to fetch water in buckets from Red Dyke, using a little wooden yoke made by their father.
School memories were of strict discipline and being made to stand in a corner wearing the dunce’s cap. Discipline was further instilled into the children by an army Sergeant from Eastbourne who would drill the boys and girls together once a week.
“Hankham School was opened in 1879 and when Mr Bennett came there in 1905 as many as 150 children would attend from as far off as Horse Eye in the Marsh to Langney and the cottages beyond Dittons Farm near Polegate. Many walked three miles or more as no child owned a bicycle,” she said.
Recalling that once a week the village brass band met to practise in the school, Rose added: “Unfortunately those were the days when the prospects were very poor indeed for agriculture and the most promising of the young bandsmen left home to seek employment elsewhere. World War I took a heavy toll of the remainder and one can fairly say that the Hankham & District Brass Band was ‘killed in action’.”
She continued: “Before the First War social evenings were almost weekly affairs held in the school. Everyone contributed to the programme and all joined in the fun. Music was supplied by piano played by volunteers, and various ladies of the village provided refreshments. They each had their own table, with tea, lemonade and home-made cakes, a speciality being Fleed Cakes.
“Little girls would recite poems in stiff white petticoats and black stockings, with hair combed straight back. The waltz, polka, barn dance, lancers and Roger de Coverley were all popular and the happy crowd left at about 10 o’clock, some with a long walk ahead of them along rough roads.”
Aged 14, she went into service in Eastbourne and two years later went to London. When she was 19 she married an apprentice blacksmith and the couple were married in 1900. Two years earlier Rose’s future husband had been among many country blacksmiths who found piece work in London during a strike by farriers in the capital. Understandably, these country men were very unpopular with the strikers and together with other out of town blacksmiths, the couple were taken to work in a wagonette with police escort and in the evenings had to stay in their lodgings for fear of being beaten up. The strike over and peace restored, the couple returned to Westham in 1921 and took over the Forge in Horse Pond Road, now Peelings Lane.
By way of a footnote to her competition essay the writer tells us that:
Westham & Hankham Women’s Institute was formed on 7 May, 1918 when 50 members were enrolled and Mrs Lucas elected President. The members specialised in toy-making for London shops and over 2000 toys were made. The money raised amounted to nearly £20 which was placed in the Bank as a reserve fund.
At first meetings were held in members’ homes, but later a room was obtained in the Railway Hotel, Westham, where committee meetings were also held. In the summer as many meetings as possible were held in the gardens of some of the larger houses, such as Priest Hawes, Hankham Hall and Hankham Place.