Another Visit To The Old Neighbourhood

In 1975 I moved to Lincoln with my family, from Kent.  At first, I hated this small, provincial city and wanted to go home…but I was stuck here.  Anyway, that’s another blog, for another day!

Apart from a couple of visits, in the early days, I have not seen the place since, apart from a couple of pictures…but now, thanks to Google, I have been able to wander the streets and marvel at the new shops and open spaces, and to remember those places that have not changed…

First of all, I was so glad that the concrete fortress (top left) had been swept away and replaced with a brick-built shopping precinct that looked friendly and inviting.  There are modern apartment blocks all around the town, as well as houses and bungalows, so people are once more living close to the shops.  There are plenty of grassed areas with trees and shrubs, which make the town look fresh and clean.  I love it!

You can no longer see the river from the High Street, but the Riverside Gardens have been re-landscaped with plenty of trees and shrubs, pathways, raised flower beds and benches…lovely.

This view of the Town Hall has changed…

Gone are the small parade of shops, and the little road down to the station, instead there is a large roundabout…how open is that!  They must have built over the railway line to create such a wide space.

Moving up the hill to Northumberland Heath,  Bexley Road seems not to have changed much at all…even Wellingtons store is still there!!  That was a surprise!

The Top Shop, at the top of Horsa Road, is also still there, as is the Halfway Shop at the bottom of the road.  Other corner shops, Like Bob’s, on the corner of Horsa and Ethelbert roads, and the butchers opposite the Halfway, have not fared so well, and are now just houses.  The view across to the park and Duchess of Kent pub, on the corners of Sussex Road still look the same, though.

Another thing that I have noticed is that all the pubs that I remembered (not from going in them, as I was too young at the time), are still there and look much the same as they used to…unlike Lincoln, where many old pubs have been closing at quite an alarming rate, and the chains, like Wetherspoons, are thriving.  The small shops are still there…all independent…with only an occasional ‘High Street’ name…and only one boarded-up shop!

Anyway…down Horsa Road we go, to my old house.  OMG!  What have they done to it?!!  There is one thing that has happened to this place, and it’s like a terrible disease…render!!  Render, and pebble-dash, are never a good idea, as they often don’t let the brickwork and mortar breathe, and can later cause more problems than they originally covered up.  And those cheap-looking windows!!  I shall say no more.

So, when I moved here in ’75, I wanted to go home.  When I visited in the late 70s I found the place to be grimy and closed in, and was so glad to get back to Lincoln.  Now, the grimy, graffiti-covered nastiness has been swept away, and Erith is a thriving town once more.  A big pat on the back for the town planners who have included lots of parking, trees and open spaces, to make Erith an attractive place to live and shop once more!

I am impressed.