This fascinating photo of Rainham High Street taken in 1963 was kindly provided by Joe Ennis and is one I've not seen before.

There are some notable landmarks visible in the photo. Firstly on the left hand side there is a large house at 69 High Street that was called Coningsby House and a forge that was demolished to make way for Rainham Shopping centre. The shops that are now Nutmegs and Greyfox Estate agents are visible on the left of the picture. 

On the right hand side you can see the road sign for Orchard Street showing that the Natwest bank was not built at this time. Next to that is the Royal Cinema known as the Bug Hutch - read more here about the Bug Hutch Rainham - Royal Cinema

There is a lorry with the words Fremlins County Ale on the front passing by the cinema. You can see Estate agents sign in the distance which would be Harris & Bone

photo of Rainham High Street taken in 1963 showing a lorry with the words Fremlins County Ale

 

A slightly earlier photo of Rainham High Street looking in the opposite direction gives an idea of the area covered by the picture above. The house now demolished is surrounded by trees in front of it towards the top left of the image.

 

Church House, on the right of this view of Rainham High Street from about one hundred years ago, had been the home of the Dodd family, and later Mr Seymour Wakeley, before it was requisitioned during the Second World War as a club for forces personnel stationed in this area. The house was demolished in the early 1960s and for many years the site was derelict. lt is now occupied by the Healthy Living Centre and all that remains of Church House is the palm tree which grew in the garden. This is one of the pictures in ‘A Third Picture Book of Rainham‘ available from Sunburst Books, 21 Station Road

 

Church House, on the right of this view of Rainham High Street from about one hundred years ago

The winter of 1987 was particularly hard with some very heavy snowfall that cut off parts of Kent for a number of days due to the roads becoming blocked. These photos of Marshall Road Rainham Kent show the height of the snow at the front door as well as the cars and roads buried underneath the volume of snow that fell.

This photo is of Lonsdale Drive Rainham looking towards cherry orchards (hence the name of Cherry Tree Road nearby) and showing the same scene after building. You can see the same tree on the horizon to get an idea of perspective and position.

View over Lonsdale Drive before building started

Lonsdale Drive under construction 1976