Lancing In The Fifties And Sixties

A Memory of Lancing.

My family moved to Lancing when I was six months old, living first in Orchard Avenue and then Tower Road, which had a bad reputation - totally undeserved! I liked the fact that there were always children to play with, but the house was incredibly cold in winter. We lived opposite the hideous water tower (demolished in 1970), and as Tower Road ended at Cokeham Lane, we could safely play in the street, until the Seadown Estate was built in the late fifties. A group of us would go to the beach on fine summer days, and before the Western Road bridge was built, we had to cross the railway line on wooden slats. Where the estate was built was at that time a wild, marshy area (as was Brooklands), known as The Brooks, and perfect for children to explore. I attended North Lancing Primary School, which involved a two mile walk, and then Worthing High School for Girls. My favourite teachers were Mr Steer and Miss Tate, but I found Mr Cox terrifying. We didn’t have a school playing field at that time, so used Lancing Manor for stool ball etc. There was also a choir, and a Country Dance Team. I enjoyed Brownies (1st St Michaels) and Junior Guild (a Methodist group). My favourite haunts in the town were the Library, and Edlows (the stationary and book shop), and a highlight of the year was the Lancing Carnival. I can also vaguely remember the Queen’s Coronation, for which there was a procession, and a party in the Old School House. In the early sixties I learned to ride at Old Salts Farm (now long gone) which mostly involved being thrown off and getting back on again. Despite that, I continued riding until 2002, when our elderly pony died. I can remember as a teenager visiting the Luxor cinema, and the Ice Cream Parlour, but moved away from Lancing when I married in 1971. My late husband (Paul Candler - ex Steyning Grammar School) and I, because of his job in banking, moved around the South East, and retired to Norfolk. I have not been back to Lancing for twenty years, and even then found it much changed, but my older son lived in Hove, and his daughters attended Lancing College, until they emigrated to New Zealand.

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