heather rocks

Memories

of

By Jenny Harper

With the sale of Heather Rocks due to complete in the not too distant future, I realized

that I may not get many more opportunities to visit this very special property that was

a memorable part of my childhood and was always such a hub of activity for all our

family. I immediately wanted to preserve some of my memories with photographs.

We have numerous photographs of all of us at the house over the years, but I wanted

to have a dedicated collection of images capturing the house as it is now, in a state of

transition from one family to another.

It was an emotional process for me even thinking of all the things I wanted to capture.

I spent a cold, frosty, January morning around the gardens and house taking the pho-

tographs with my head full of memories. There are so many! I’m sure that I haven’t

covered absolutely everything. This was my perception and I wanted to share it with

you. I hope that you enjoy looking through the images.

Jen

The view on the approach to the house from both directions of Moss Hill

View of the house on entering the drive

The stables, in dappled sunlight

The boy, who sits on the rose beds by the driveway

and the view through the passage that leads to the back door

The lamppost in the driveway

and the path up to the top garden - this is the way you go if you’re cycling

around the garden so you can get to the back without steps

The view of the back door from the top of the steps

The back lawn, in the shadow of the house. It used to be planted with fruit trees, bushes

and vegetables. I remember the gooseberry bushes, they were prickly.

There used to be an old bath around here, at the back of the top garden. My dad would

bring us up to collect food for our fish from it.

View of the house from the top path by the roof of the games room

The ‘grotto’ - dark and a bit scary when we were little!

The air raid shelter, views in and out

The hidden key for the games room

The games room and the pool table that my sisters and I learned to play on

It takes 2 old, bigger 10p coins and when

they’re all gone. you just unlock it and

retrieve the 10p coins. Much better than

at the pub.

I never understood why you would spin

coins over a pool table. Or smoke, for

that matter.

The bar in the games room, where we came after many a barbecue and played space

invaders. Also Mr Keeling’s space, where he would keep his Fox’s glacier mints.

I often found grandad in the pump room checking things for the swimming

pool, but I never went in.

To and fro between the house and the games room on barbecue nights, I’d

always take the path. Unless it was raining, then I’d run across the grass.

The raised bit in the path that grandma always worried we’d trip on

The changing room shed by the swimming pool

The wall by the back door. I used to throw the ball against this wall. You’d

never know which direction it would come back in.

‘Diana the Huntress’ statue

The foundation stone

The sun dial

The arch

The summer house and the platform around the monkey puzzle tree, where

the men would play pitching on Sports Day

The steps up to the narrow path running by the side of the bowling lawn,

with the broken statue.

The front door and the lion. We may have all had photographs taken on the

lion at some point!

Built in 1901

The bell and the front door. My dad always gave the bell a ring when we

arrived at the front door and I followed suit once I could reach.

The light on the staircase and the door through to the kitchen.

The hallway tiles entering the dining room.

The dining room, with the circular area where we sat for Christmas dinners

and the doors through to the conservatory.

The conservatory. I once fell asleep on a sunny Sunday afternoon lying on

the sofa in this spot after a tiring weekend at camp. It was bliss.

The fireplace

The family photos

The living room sofa and the marble table

The kitchen table. We made chocolate biscuits and Christmas truffles with

grandma around this table.

The view outside from the kitchen.

The view from grandad's seat at the table, next to his pile of newspapers.

The kitchen, where grandma was normally busy preparing food.

The kids’ coat pegs by the telephone table

The view in from the back door porch

The old kitchen with the clothes dryer.

The cellar. I hardly went down there. There were probably lots of spiders.

The wall in the hallway, which normally had the welsh dresser and the wall

clock against it. You could hear the clock chime throughout the house.

The view from the first flight of stairs - the hallway and the stables.

The stairs

The guest room, with the pink carpet and the sink.

The bedroom where we used to sleep if we stayed over, though the mirrored

wardrobes have already gone.

The view from Aunty Su’s old bedroom

The main bathroom, where the side used to be covered with grandma’s

lotions and potions.

The view of the stables from the top staircase

The stairs from the top floor

The snooker room walls

I remember playing with the snooker balls when I could barely see the top of

the table.

The score board. I took charge of moving the pointers when I was old enough.

The table and cues