37 Ashburnham Road From 1955 To 1966

A Memory of Ham.

I spent my first eleven years in the above address. The houses were all council houses. There was an Anderson shelter in the back garden from the second world war.
The houses were quite ordinary but Ham was a very special place. We were totally free to come and go without parents and I played with friends along the Thames especially at Teddington, running along the locks and often went swimming at Teddington open air pool. I learnt to swim in the Thames near Ham House.
In those days it was free to get into the grounds of Ham House. There were playgrounds in Ham which were well used. I remember Ham as lots of trees, avenues, fine grassy areas and ancient brick walls and very special georgian houses.
It was always isolated in its beauty. There were not many buses then and cars were very few. I got married at St Richard's Church and left Ham in 1975 and I was happy to leave and move to a busy area with lots of shops, transport links, restaurants etc.
As I have got older I realised how beautiful Ham is. So easy to walk along the Thames, relaxing on Ham Common, walking along the Avenues. Petersham meadow with a large sandpit swings/see-saws etc was a well visited area at weekends with walks up the hill to Richmond Park.
I go back as often as I can and much of Ham is just the same.
Lesley Middleton

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