According to details in the 1897 ordnance survey map central Upchurch remained relatively unchanged from the 1890s right up to the early 1960s. Most of the houses in The Street, the Infant’s School and the Co-op building then known as the 'King Edward 1' pub were in place. The church, ‘Wayside’ opposite in Oak Lane and 'The Crown' had existed for centuries. Anvil House, Church Farm Cottages, a forge, an Elizabethan barn and an oasthouse were located at the top end of Forge Lane. Other oasthouses stood on the sites of Crosier Court, Marstan Close Woodruff Close and Gore Farm.
Allotments were located opposite The Paddock in Oak Lane and behind Suffield House. The sites of The Poles and Church Farm Road were orchards. Only Gore Bank Cottages just past the recreation ground and cottages at Chaffes Lane Place existed in Chaffes Lane, the rest was farmland. Many of the houses in Horsham Lane had not been built and a brick works owned by Wakeley Brothers existed at the top end of Poot Lane where a rail system connected it to Lower Halstow Creek from where barges transported bricks to other locations.
The population of Upchurch totalled 1,218 in 1891 but by 1901 it had dropped to 1,129, mainly due to an agricultural crisis in which failing markets and mechanization had caused rising unemployment.
Most male residents worked on local farms, in the brickfields or on barges. Others included Ernest Cozens, a baker and the village photographer, Tom Wraight a grocer and postmaster and Charles Bishop, headmaster at Holywell School. These three men were active in village affairs. Others included Miss Furzeland the Infant’s school headmistress, William Hales, the butcher, Reverend Cooper the vicar and PC Fuggle the village policeman followed by PC Withers in 1893. In 1891 the oldest Upchurch residents were George Edmonds and Elizabeth Anderson, both aged 87.
During the 1890s public transport did not pass through the village and cars did not exist so many residents walked or rode bicycles to get around. The nearest public transport in the form of horse drawn omnibuses stopped at the White Horse and the Cricketers in Rainham and travelled to Sittingbourne, Faversham, Canterbury and Dover in one direction and Medway in the other. Alternatively, trains could be obtained at Rainham railway station.
Farming had a mix of fruit, hops, arable and livestock with Wakeley Brothers of Rainham owning a large amount of land in many parts of the village, Lt Colonel Lumley-Webb of Tunstall owned land at Ham Green and saltings at Greenborough and Slayhills. The Stevens family owned land at Holywell while Frank Seager managed Gore Farm. Smaller farmers at Ham Green included William Wood, Henry Clark and the Witherden family. Bill Hyland who became a well-known village bellringer worked as Wakeley’s fruit foreman at Wetham Green.
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St. Mary's Church circa the 1890s. Taken from Horsham Lane. |
In July 1890 Upchurch brickfield workers presented Holywell headmaster Charles Bishop with an engraved silver tray in appreciation for supplying them with bread when a bargemen’s strike had caused them hardship. He later held regular monthly concerts at Holywell School for parishioners’ entertainment to finance an annual children’s outing to Sheerness every July. Grocer Tom Wraight who also became a churchwarden organised entertainment for parishioners in the Vicarage Rooms. He participated as a singer and violinist at these events.
Six pubs provided the village men with beer and a social life during the 1890s. These included 'The Crown', 'The Brown Jug' and 'The Three Sisters' which still exist, others were the 'King Edward I' in The Street, 'The Anchor & Hope Inn' at Otterham Quay and 'The Stanley Inn' at the bottom of Windmill Hill.
Although a football club had not yet been formed a cycle club, a brass band and a cricket club flourished. The cricket club had been playing at Holywell Meadow since 1883 and had become established in the area, the parish council came into existence in 1894 and the recreation ground in 1897.
From 1894 an annual horticultural show took place in the 'King Edward 1' pub and money raised was donated to St Bart’s Hospital. Concerts were also held to aid suffering parishioners. In 1899 smoking concerts were held at 'The Three Sisters' and 'King Edward I' pubs to aid blind parishioner Richard Turill and an ill Edward Hollands. In March 1894 a fair took place but it failed as it only had one stall and a donkey due to lack of support.
Health became a periodic issue with six parishioners admitted to Keycol Hospital suffering from smallpox in April 1893, stench from cesspools caused health problems for village residents in The Street in 1894 and an outbreak of diphtheria occurred at Ham Green in 1896. Parishioners had to rely on water from wells which was not always of the best quality resulting in many being closed during the late 1890s due to an outbreak of typhoid. In 1898 plans were drawn up to have a waterworks constructed at Yelsted to supply Upchurch and other local villages with clean water.
At a time when sanitation was not up to present standards services were in operation to assist the public. The cesspool emptying service was one of these and consisted of a horse and cart loaded with barrels. Going from house to house on the horse and cart, the cesspool men removed waste from the cesspools and loaded it into the barrels with a long handled implement. When full the barrels were emptied on farmland to act as fertiliser for crops.
Most Upchurch residents lived their entire lives in the village and struggled against unemployment and sickness to a far greater extent than today without the luxuries or services of modern times.
About David
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.
David Wood
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