Village recollections
Often villages are shown as clusters of houses and shops merely providing a slumberland for
commuters and retired businessmen. This illusion of rural stagnation is immediately
destroyed when visiting villages such as Bridge, whose villagers care - sometimes
passionately - about the future of their go-ahead community.
Bridge, with its rising population, has found itself coming to grips with the influx of new
blood. Modern houses and bungalows have appeared on both sides of the village's main street
and now its population is heading for about 2000.
Only about three miles from Canterbury, Bridge houses many people who come to the city to
work but prefer the village to provide their home life. Business houses and factories Bridge
may not have; shops to cater for its needs it certainly has.
Apart from a wet fish shop and a bank, Bridge has every type of shop needed to make it self-
contained for the housewife.
Some villagers are pressing hard to get a bank and, if they are as successful with this project
as they have been with past demands, Bridge should have one in the not too distant future.
Yet that is looking ahead and Bridge is proud of its past. It takes its name from what is now
the 18"‘ Century brick bridge straddling the River Nailbourne in the High Street.
For many of the older residents an evening is often well spent recalling life in the village at
the turn of the Century. Anyone wishing to know of the Bridge of decades ago is immediately
directed to the home of Mr Herbert Price at Lynton Cottage.
Formerly the village's representative on the Bridge Blean Rural District Council he retired
because of ill-health but is still an active member of the Parish Council, which he joined in
1930. He is also Chairman of the managers of Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England
Controlled Primary School.
Mr Price has almost a lifetime of recollections of the village. He remembers the days when
the High Street was uncluttered by cars and when the Elham Valley Railway line was in
operation.
Some of his fondest memories are of the old Bridge Volunteer Fire Brigade, started by the
Marquess of Conyngham in the l890's. In the early days the brigade's manual pump was
horse-drawn, but in 1925, when Mr Pricejoined the brigade, they had a motor tender which
proved to be extremely efficient and was often called into Canterbury to help with city fires.
Later a Rolls Royce chassis was converted for use and in 1929 the brigade got its own motor
pump. In l938 the Rolls Royce was replaced by a Bedford.
Of the changes in the village, Mr Price said: "Years ago the road was narrower near the bridge
and we had a fine set of lime trees down the street. What is now the Red Lion public house's
car park was stables, and the White Horse's car park was a lawn. We used to hold open-air
dances there.
"The Village Hall belonged to the Marquess of Conyngham but in 1952 he let the village have
it on a 50-year lease at 6d a year, to be rented by a committee delegated by the Parish
Council. At present we need a new hall and are looking for a suitable site."
Looking back at the village characters he has known, several names came to Mr Price's mind.
He said he could clearly remember Mr Jack Friend, a former landlord of the Red Lion, who
organised the village's King George VI Coronation celebrations. He also had vivid memories
of a former village baker Mr Charles Wills, and Mr Chas. White, who was the chairman of
the Parish Council for many years.
During his recollections Mr Price never fails to remember the day Bridge was packed with
people. It was at the funeral in l9l0 of Fireman J. Fenn, who was killed while firing a
maroon.
"Bridge has never been as full as it was on the day of Fireman F enn's funeral. The streets
were lined with masses of people who came from miles around to pay their respects to this
popular fireman," said Mr Price.
Another person who has many memories of Bridge is Mr Harry Hawkins, owner of the ladies‘
and men's outfitters and the newsagents. His father came to Bridge in 1907 and he was born
in the village.