Early life in Bermondsey

Yes, I really liked Miss Quinlivan. I send her a card every Christmas and hope to phone her when I go over to London in September. Miss Giles was my Form Mistress when I was in 5Z, and she was very nice too. I think that I had Miss Jackson for Physics in the second form, 2A. I didn't have Miss Gallaher or Miss Gordon for any classes, but of course I knew of them. I was lucky to only have one detention in 5 years and it wasn't due to bad work or misconduct, but I believe because I left some money in my satchel on my chair. She said it was against the rules to leave money un- attended!!
Before I left school. I joined the Old Girls' Association and paid 5 pounds for a lifetime membership!! I'm still receiving updates after 46 years!! What value.

<big grin> I haven't visited the site for months, lovely to see the memories pouring out. I went to Snowsfields School and lived in the original Old Miller of Mansfied at the other end of Snowsfields. On my way to school I passed the bag-wash with smells of steam and chlorine bleach, the wooden shed where they smoked fish (I think,but seems a long way from the sea!) Then a bit further up there was Pannet and Nedens(?) factory where they dried and packed herbs and spices, remember especially the powerful smell of cinnamon and nutmeg. I remember that Monk and Glass gave the school a patch of land to use as a gardening project, think about 1952, the ground was full of rubble, and we had very limited tools etc so very little was ever grown successfully - sunflowers mainly!

Hi M.O.M, the name of the little alley was Mermaid Court I am sure, the large tea chests full of lovely spices, it backed on to Guinness Bldgs. I left Snowsfields school in 1955 when Mr Burdon was h'master.
Remember the bagwash the lovely clean smell.

I think the courtway was illegally closed quite a few years ago when the new flats were built in weston street, and it was a public highway!
I remember my first packet of seeds we were given to plant in the garden, Larkspur, the nearest thing to magic as i recall.

Playing on and in the bombsites of which is now Guys Hospital 'new wing' opened in 1961, which went right back to London Bridge station..when did you leave Snowsfields?

Miller of Mansfield wrote:

Monk and Glass gave the school a patch of land to use as a gardening project, think about 1952, the ground was full of rubble, and we had very limited tools etc so very little was ever grown successfully - sunflowers mainly!

There was another Guinness block where the School garden is now, which was bombed. Maybe that was the rubble?

Jan, there's Ship and Mermaid Row which runs off Snowsfields next to the Guinness block and round between the two private blocks onto Western Street. It's cobbled.

That sounds more like it Beetroot! I always wondered why it was closed after the flats were built though, must try and waddle down when my m.g. is not too bad!

Hi there, have just found this wonderful site-I grew up in Peabody Estate, Southwark Street and went to school at Christ Church Primary (long gone) then SSSO from 1967-73. Reading all your posts brings back so many memories!
I wonder if there's anyone out there who was in any of my classes?

Hi Gilly, my Mum went to ChristChurch Primary school in Bear Lane, well before your time though! she was born in 1918! My daughters went to ssso 1978 onwards..you must remember our lovely area before the government destroyed the bricklayers arms with the equivalent of theBerlin Wall..the flyover! ruined a a vibrant living area and tower bridge road market.

You're right, Jan, about the Bricklayer's Arms flyover being an eyesore, And what about the vandelous demolition of that lovely old library building to make way for it. But OMG, was it needed! I couldn't attempt to estimate the number of times back in the 1960's when I would get on the bus at the corner of East Street, en route to work in the City, and get off it again at the' Brick,' because it had only moved two hundred yards in twenty minutes. I would then walk to work and that would be the last I saw of the bus. It would never overtake me. The 'Brick' was permanently gridlocked back then.

Hi Jan, yup, your mum was at Christ Church just a little bit before my time! I'm pretty sure the flyover was already there when I went to SSSO (although frankly, memory is not my strong point!)
It's a long time since I moved away from SE1, although my dad lived there until fairly recently and this forum is bringing back so many happy memories of growing up, getting into mischief and generally being a Sarf London kid!

The flyover was built during 1969 and was completed when I started at SSSO in 1970. The accompanying roundabout with its subways was a "flashers paradise" and us girls would rather risk getting run over than getting caught down the subway by some horrible bloke (or the boys from Paragon!)

It's a shame about the library, a couple of more years and it would have been listed.