Old Mill House and Lemar family contd..

My father,(Mr. Lemar) had to do an immense amount of work to Old
M111 Hguse, i.e. levelling the floors, making ceilings and redecorating
etc, In one instance, in a bedroom, when he stripped layers of paper
eff down he the wooden partitioning, he found signatures and ranks of
soldiers who it seemed had been billeted in the house. (I wonder which
war they fought in?)
Old Mill House has only one half brick internal wall, all the
other "walla" having wooden partitioning. There is an iron"X" on the
beek and front walls, securing an iron rod which runs through the house.
When we moved in there were just two gas lights and no other means
Of artificial light, so candles and hurricane lamps were used. The toilet
was Outside and there was a cesspool and water-well in the back garden.
After 3 few years a cement rendering was put over the old brick outer
walls and the sash windows were replaced. Because of these alterations,
the heuee is not a listed building. ,
My father and mother (Mr. & Mrs. Lemar) died in l98O and 1981
respeetively and both are buried in Bridge Churchyard; we all attended
the Church, My sister, Margaret, became organist at Bridge Church at
the age of 14, holding the post for lhfi years. She married the local
Pgliceman, moved to Gravesend and became organist at her Church there.
She died in 1986-
Gwen (the writer of these notes) now lives in thewest Midlands,
but has always considered Bridge as "home".
Gladys, who worked for seven successive Matrons at The Union (later
te become The Close and The New Close) from 19h? until her retinmmnm in
1985 (58% years) lived in Old Mill House until 15th September 1998 (nearly
66 years).