NORTH WAY - 1976 / 1977

Nice set of old pictures, the second photo shows riverside looking northwest towards the shed of R Lower & Sons, Shipwrights & Boat Builders, where I started my apprenticeship in 1967, where we built many clinker beach boats for Sussex coastal towns and customers further afield etc. There is the start of North Way ring road under construction evident by the JCB doing its job building up the ground levels, I can't help feeling something has been lost or should I say that the new works did not capitalise on this water side location with a bit more forethought by the so called planners to make this a benefit to the town and not allow rusting hulks to blot the scene!!!!

I cannot agree more with your conclusions. Think what a fascinating waterfront this could have been with cafes, shops, berths and businesses. Instead it was destroyed by a road.

Thanks for showing these photos. My brothers and I had two beach boats built by Lower & Son which we used when fishing near the Peter Pan's playground beach in the 1970's. Other people had boats built by Alf Humphrey, Reg Juno, Peter Kinsey and Robin Burgess. We had great times and they were lovely boats. It would be nice to know where some of those old boats are now.