THE RAINHAM WE LOST (Part 1-May 1999) The Rainham We Lost - Part Two (from May 1999)
The Cozenton name is though to have derived from the personal name of ‘CUSA’. the farmstead of Cusa‘s family who lived there in 1270 and the old farmhouse was thought to have been around 300 years old. (Those more knowledgeable than I may be more precise from the rake of the roof and the type of chimneys in the photograph.) The house was built to North, parallel with, and about 80 yards from, the roadway. The front facing east had the benefit of the moming sunlight although in my time this was somewhat obscured by overgrown trees and bushes. The scullery, situated at the southem end, was entered through a low heavy door and was around 28' to 30' long. Just inside the door was a large old style shallow sink on brick pillars. This was the most convenient point to the old wall and pump, only about 20’ from the back door.
Mr Richard Hodges, my uncle’s grandson, tells me that a bakers oven was later found at the rear of the scullery. Near to the door leading from the scullery into the kitchen was a thick slate worktop, probably 8’ x 4' from which milk was served. I never went into the cellar which seemed to run under both the scullery and part of the kitchen but I did see sides of pig brought up and there was a grating at the rear of the house which l presume was used for coal and logs. The main features of the kitchen were the very large Aga type cooker, a hot kettle always on top, and the dresser which took up most of the rear wall. An oblong scrubbed table was the centre of most household activities.
The front door opened into a hall between the kitchen and a sitting room with a corridor running from the hall to another wide passage which ran the length of the house to a very large living room at the northern end. A back door opened to steps loading to tennis courts (rather dilapidated) whilst wide stairs led to the bedrooms. The Front sitting room had an Adam fireplace and l understand that there was another upstairs. The settees and chairs were normally covered with blankets because dogs were always around. l don’t remember rnuch about the upstairs but the chimneys were high to avoid down draft and very wide. They were swept fairly regularly by taking a large gooseberry bush from the plantation which was weighted and lowered from the chimney top by one of the workmen.
Many youngsters obtained their conkers from the large horse chestnut trees at the roadside entrance which were also an attractive feature when in bloom. The electricity for lighting the house, cow sheds and barn was generated by an engine in an outhouse near to the back door which also housed banks of accumulators (batteries) and when running at the weekend the engine caused the lighting to flicker and dip.
Freddie Cooper
Cozenton Farm in the 1920s
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The Wakeley family began farming at Westmoor Farm in Rainham during the 18th century. They became the biggest farming company in Upchurch during the 19th and early 20th centuries and had a big influence on the village and its inhabitants.
Formed in the mid 19th century, Wakeley Brothers inherited land which included a sizeable acreage in Upchurch from Rainham farmer Thomas Dodd because of marriage between the two families. They employed large numbers of local people to work in their orchards, hop gardens, brick works and on their barges in the parish of Upchurch. They also had a blacksmith’s workshop at Church Farm in Forge Lane.
The company built six oast houses in different parts of the parish to store hops produced at their Seventeen Acres hop garden in Oak Lane where the golf course is now located. Many local Upchurch residents worked there over the years with the most well-known being Mrs Margaret Neame from the Upchurch Stores who organised and led a group of ladies from the village to work there during the 1940s and 1950s. A large number of Upchurch residents worked in the Wakeley hop gardens up to the 1970s.
From the 1880s Wakeley Brothers also had farm cottages constructed for their workers in the parish such as Wetham Green Cottages at Wetham Green, Plantation Cottages and Otterham Cottages in Horsham Lane and Red Brick Cottages in Poot Lane.
The bricks used for the houses came from the Poot Lane brick works which existed from 1862 to the first quarter of the 20th century. Most of the bricks from here were transported by a trolley rail system across Wetham Green to Twinney wharf from where the company barges took consignments of bricks to different locations along the river and as far as London.
The Wakeley brothers each had a role in the business. For example, Richard Mansfield Wakeley managed Moor Street Farm and involved himself in Upchurch affairs when he became one of the first parish councillors in 1894. He also contributed land to the parish for use as allotments.
William Wakeley learnt about the milling industry and after going to America to gain experience, he managed the Wakeley Brothers milling business and steam mill at Otterham Quay. He also won fame as a champion rose grower and he won many awards locally and nationally.
The brothers lived in Rainham but they all had a role in the family business. Thomas Stanley Wakeley dealt with corn and spent time at the corn exchange in London and in Rochester. He also organised the transportation of company agricultural produce from Rainham railway station to London and he dealt with the markets. His office was located in the oast next to Rainham railway station. In Upchurch he negotiated a land deal with Upchurch parish council at Church Farm in the village centre for the construction of the Infant’s School in 1882. As an evangelical preacher he also held services for his Upchurch congregation at the Wakeley granary in Otterham Quay Road during the 1860s. He was regarded as a very shrewd and clever businessman. His grandson William Wakeley became the last member of the family to run the business over a long period.
Richard Mansfield Wakeley who resided at and managed Moor Street Farm which covered part of Rainham and adjoining Oak Lane in Upchurch, became one of the first Upchurch parish councillors when the parish council was formed in 1894. He also contributed land to the parish for use as allotments. His brother John who also lived at Moor Street Farm helped him and he became a school manager of Holywell School.
Seymour Wakeley organised affairs at the Hartlip and Upchurch hop gardens and helped organise some of the early Upchurch fetes at the vicarage. He lived the longest of the Wakeley brothers, reaching 91 years old.
Brian Wakeley who became the only family member to live in the village. He resided at Church Farm Cottages in Forge Lane from the 1920s to the 1950s played a part in various activities and village organisations such as the tennis club at the vicarage, he played parts in various theatrical productions and he served as a captain in the Upchurch Home Guard during World War Two.
Female members of the Wakeley family also played a role in Upchurch village affairs. Mrs Minnie Wakeley, wife of Richard Mansfield Wakeley junior, became the first president of the Women’s Institute in 1932, while Dora Wakeley, wife of Seymoour Wakeley had a great interest in pottery and she founded and developed Upchurch Pottery with the help of her husband.. The business began in 1909 when a bottle kiln and workshop was constructed in the chalk pit just off Seymour Road in Rainham.
Ted Baker from Windmill Hill was employed as potter. He produced pots mainly influenced by Greek and Roman vases. He used a style of soft colours with a matt finish. This became characteristic of Upchurch pottery made of clay that Dora Wakeley obtained from the saltings just off the Ham Green prninsular.
Upchurch pottery developed a good reputation on the porcelain market and it became well-known nationwide and is recognizeable by its distinctive colouring and finish for which the village should be proud.
Wakeley Brothers farmed in Upchurch until the 1990s. They mainly produced top fruit such as apples and pears during their later period and they had a cold storage centre built on the site now occupied by Woodruff Close. They later moved to a new store in Spade Lane Hartlip. When the warehouse was destroyed by fire William Wakeley decided to finish farming and retired while his son James who had managed the land in Upchurch and Rainham left the area.
The Wakeley family influence on Upchurch remained big from the mid 19th century until the late 20th century. They offered employment to locals during this period, they involved themselves in village affairs and they had houses constructed which still exist while the hop garden, oast houses, the barges and the brick works have gone.
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This month we begin a five-part series prepared for us by Freddie Cooper on Cozenton Farm. He knew the area well as a boy and has uncovered some of its past history. Although his memories relate specifically to his uncle’s farm, life would have been very similar on other properties in the area and so help build a valuable social history of Rainham. I am sure many people will find it fascinating reading.
THE RAINHAM WE LOST
Most of the Manor houses and large family properties around which Rainham developed have been demolished during my lifetime. Many were lost because the land on which they were built, together with the surrounding areas were worth far more for development and until recently there was little demand for large properties which probably needed domestic assistance. l’m thinking of places like Berengrave House, Cozenton Farm and Longley’s opposite, The Limes, Mardale House, Marlborough House. The Russells, The Old Vicarage and Pond House. Perhaps some of these would have been listed and preserved today. The farmland too has nearly all gone for housing which has caused the population to rise from 3,693 in 1901 to around 40,000 today (1999) and includes Hempstead, Wigmore and Parkwood which were all part of the area administered by Rainham Parish Council until 1929.
The property with which I was personally acquainted was Cozenton Farm in Berengrave Lane which was owned by my uncle Mr David Richardson and where l spent some of my school holidays. Actually l had to visit the farm twice a day to collect milk from the age of 7 to about 13 (1924-31). Milk didn’t keep for long prior to pasteurisation so Jim Vickers from Roberts Road, who had similar duties, walked the 1.5 miles with me every moming, come rain or snow, before the family could have breakfast. Cozenton was part of the Manor of Queencourt which comprised some 485 acres of arable, pasture and marshland on both sides of Berengrave Lane. It was originally owned by the Crown and given by Queen Alianore, wife of Henry lll to the Master and Brethren of St Katherine’s Hospital near to the Tower in 1273. lt included a water mill beside Rainham creek, believed to be along Motney Hill Road.
Like most of Rainham, by last century Cozenton was owned by the Hothfield Family (Lord of the Manor) and in 1887 an area of 29 acres 1 rood and 8 perches was bought by a consortium of Rainham businessmen. W.H. Wakeley, S.J. Brice, Marshall Harvey, James Smart, George Whayman, William Finnes and R.J. Passby for £1,550. These men were also the Directors of The Rainham Freehold Land and Allotment Co. Ltd, to which they sold a smaller area of the farm in the following year for £1,800. I know of these transactions because a Mrs Jarvis of Twydall kindly sent me the Abstract of Title which was found among a relative’s effects. Many of the old abstracts are no longer required since the introduction of Land Registry and this manner of tracing ownerships is going to be lost. I think that the farm previously covered a far larger area than when I knew it in the 1920s and 30s. I remember reading of a High Court case held in 1911 in which Street Farm was described as part of Cozenton. The wooden faced building now occupied by Lee Langton on the corner of Holding Street is part of the farm house of Street Farm which was last occupied by the late Alderman W.H. Holding until he built ‘Wilelda’, No.36 High Street, beside the alleyway opposite.
The Rainham We Lost - Part Two (from May 1999)
The Rainham We Lost by Freddie Cooper (Part 3 - July 1999)
Freddie Cooper
May 1999
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The Rainham Healthy Living centre was built on the site of the old Co-op Store and former Church House on the High Street. The Church House site had been derelict land for over 30 years since being knocked down in the 1960s and the Co-Op was demolished in 1997.
Site in 2001
The Palm Tree that stood in the gardens of Church House was retained and had somehow survived for the 30 years without attention! You can see it in the photo below taken in 2003 looking rather sorry! The Rainham Shopping Centre is shown behind the White Horse and Station Road shops. Rainham Palm Tree - White Horse/Church House High Street Rainham Kent
Aerial view of the site looking over Rainham Shopping Centre, White Horse pub and Station Road in 2003
The photo below shows the Cooperative store on Rainham High Street in 1997 before it was demolished. More photos here Rainham High Street Coop Co-operative Store Demolition
Construction of the new Rainham Healthy Living Centre began in June 2005 and was completed the next year. The photos below show the site during the construction phases. You'll never see the view below of St Margaret's Church again as the building now blocks it.
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
Rainham NHS Healthy Living Centre aerial photo from 2007 once building completed
Looking East from church over the NHS Healthy Living Centre
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This document gives a small insight into the life of an apprentice in Victorian England. The paper is Indenture between George William Kingston, Apprentice and William Henry Wood, Haberdasher for a period of 7 (seven) years and is dated 7th January 1851 (although also described as the 7th January of the fourteenth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lady Victoria which I've not seen used as a time period reference before)
Within the seven years of the Indenture George William Kingston agrees not toget married, play cards or waste the goods of his master. In return the apprentice is provided with meat, drink, apparel, lodging and other necessaries during the term but apparently no money.
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Subcategories
Historical life Article Count: 6
Historical life in Rainham
Rainham Life Article Count: 11
Rainham Life
Local Events Article Count: 48
Local Events
Photos Article Count: 159
Photos
Action Forum Article Count: 247
Action Forum is a free monthly magazine that is distributed to the Rainham area covering Wigmore, Parkwood and Hempstead as well. This archive covers old copies of the magazine dating back to its initial publication in 1969 and give a fascinating glimpse into life in Rainham over the last 50 years.
Link to Article Index - Action Forum Index - Photos and Articles from 1969 onwards