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Community Website
Scaynes Hill Village
Charles Gower (1889 - 1975)
My mother was Jean Gower and lived in Henfield Place No.1 (left hand side). They shared an outside toilet with their neighbour which was at the bottom of their neighbour's garden. They used orange boxes as bedside tables.
From there I think my grandfather, Charles, moved to Bedales Cottage as Head Gardener to Bedales. My grandmother was also working there.
Later they moved to Inces Cottage again as Head Gardener to Inces. I remember the gardens which had tennis courts and a chicken run, orchards, two large potting sheds where grandfather would over-winter his favourite 'Clare Daliahs'. One area was hung with foxes' tails and moles which were kept to show that he was keeping vermin down. He would take items from the garden down to the big house at Inces - "Mr. Graham". As children we were not to go near the big house, in fact no further than the cottage back garden.
Memories of Charles Gower
by his granddaughter Carol Hudson (nee Gower)
On a separate page is a copy of a map my mother recalled about Scaynes Hill when she was a child.
Henfield Place (No.1 on left side)
Bedales Cottage
The cottage was quite dark and on two levels. Looking out the bathroom window was a sheer drop into the woods. The kitchen had a mangle and oven above which was a lined area where water could be heated, cloth pudding could be cooked, or washing done. A step down went into the lounge then corridor to the bedrooms.
Outside were large garages which belonged to the big house and were always locked, but I did see an old car similar to those on the London to Brighton run - I don't think it had been used for many a year.
Grandfather kept a double barrelled shotgun behind the kitchen door with cartridges kept in a nearby drawer. I once saw him shoot a rat who was rolling a chicken's egg away - there was nothing left of either! At Inces he had a lot of problems with foxes and would often spend time routing them out.
The house had a telephone and he could ring the big house by winding a handle on the kitchen wall. He would then get an order of what he would pick - cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes etc. All the best would go to Inces but I remember having wonderful salads and fresh eggs for tea. My grandmother would ring a handbell to call him in for his morning cocoa and I would love doing that job.
Inces