VIEW OF NORTH QUAY FROM DENTON ISLAND

This site forms the area where the Bowling Club now is

By Celia Malfroot

Photo: Illustrative image for the 'VIEW OF NORTH QUAY FROM DENTON ISLAND' page

Can anyone pin down the date? From the plethora of electric cranes on the North Quay, I'm guessing 1950's or 1960's. Andy - Editor.

This page was added by Celia Terrill on 06/03/2010.
Comments about this page

It looked just like that when I used to go there with Wacker Davis, Bannisters lorry driver to dump sawdust and shavings from the joiners shop and then set fire to it. That would have been 1961,62,63,? We used to sit in the cab and watch what was going on on the Quay and eat our cream crackers, cheese and hot chocolate. Happy days. Maurice Balcombe the foreman would not have been very pleased had he known what we were doing.

By Terry Howard
On 07/03/2010

I would think this is late 1960's era as it appears that the refuse tip was still on Denton island. I remember this closed towards the late 1960's period when Ferguson TV Video Plant, was built on the now Newhaven Campus occupied location. We observed it from Robinson Road , boatyard position.

By Chris Young
On 07/03/2010

I can hopefully give some help to the above comments. It's the Ferguson factory connection that may give the clues. The first phase of the Ferguson factory was completed in August 1963 and would be just to the right of the picture. As you came over the Island bridge the 'Bridgeworks' engineering company was on your left and then the 'Ferguson Radio Corporation' was just past it. My reason for being so sure of this is because I started work there when it opened. The second phase was 2 years later when the factory was enlarged to double it's size and an additional warehouse, which was later converted to the Engineering Offices, was built just to the right of the wooden building on the right, and I think the apex roof on the extreme right of the picture could be the roof of that building. I worked in those offices from 1968 to 1982. This was 'across the road' from the main factory and I think a company who made water slides, (Stuart's maybe ?) took these over when the Ferguson factory (now called J2T) finally closed in 1988. The factory was then subject to a management buy-out in May 1988 and renamed DI Electronics, but only survived for approx. another year whereby everything was sold at auction and all staff made redundant. A sad end to a very large town employer, which at one time employed over 500 people. The tip in the photo became the car park in 1966 so this photo is likely before then. The wooden building on the right is something I am struggling to remember but I must have seen it, does anybody know what it was used for ?

 

Was the building the Moore brothers boat building workshop ( the same boys were also members of the Newhaven Lifeboat  ( Edgar Moore being coxwain )  John Editor

By Paul Blackman
On 08/03/2010

I think you're right John, I seem to remember seeing Mr. Moore go past my office window. He was one of those gentlemen who everybody recognised because he was so well know in the town for the good work he and his colleagues did. Mike Beach was another member of the crew who everybody recognised. I notice from other areas of the website that he also became coxwain. Local heroes indeed !

By Paul Blackman
On 10/03/2010

Hi, I seem to remember that the Newhaven Deep Sea Anglers had a wooden hut similar to this, complete with their own slipway to the main river on Denton Island. I started as a junior member in the late 1950's and can recall the boat owners using it.

By Colin Brandon
On 06/08/2010

The wooden shed was also a rifle club at one time.

By Celia Malfroot
On 23/11/2015

I will concour with Celia's comment. That building on the right looks like the rifle range which I have used in the early sixties.

By Richard Manser
On 30/10/2018

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