Pretoria - Sandringham Road

Vivienne Salmon (nèe Bragg) kindly provided some photographs of her Grandparent’s bungalow in Sandringham Road, where her mother Hilda grew up.

William and Nellie Harber at Pretoria.

William and Nellie Harber at Pretoria.

William and Nellie Harber bought the bungalow in 1930 and called it ‘Pretoria’.  Its name was etched into the glass above the front door.

William Harber infront of Pretoria

William Harber infront of Pretoria

Pretoria was situated on the east side of Sandringham Road, just a couple of plots from the junction with Rutland Road to the south and about three plots from Essex Road to the north.  The back gardens of Sandringham Road backed on to Basil Drive (see map). Pretoria is Plot No. 212 on the map. (Click on map to enlarge the image.)

Sandringham Road and surrounding area.

Sandringham Road and surrounding area.

The 1949 survey describes the building made of brick with asbestos tiles and consisting of three rooms.  Its condition was described as ‘good’ and its plot ‘tidy’.

The Harber family at Pretoria

The Harber family at Pretoria

Hilda Bragg (nèe Harber) wrote of her memories of the war years and these are available to read by clicking the following link:- Click here.

William Harber and daughter Hilda, constructing their Anderson Shelter.

William Harber and daughter Hilda, constructing their Anderson Shelter.

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  • I lived at the ‘Briars’ Sandringham Road from 1934 until 1955. Lionel Baker age 88

    By Lionel (23/01/2023)
  • A very interesting article, concentrating on Pretoria, Sandringham Road. How unforgettable it would have been to be around Laindon in those war years when it was on the bombing run into East London. It is really fascinating to see the map Nina has produced showing where Pretoria was relative to the rest of Laindon. There seems to be an absolute crowding of dwellings around this important area near to the station. By the time I moved to Laindon in August 1957 the construction work was well under way on Laindon Link. This meant that there was a break in Sandringham Road and Inverness Road where the link intersected them. There was a low retaining wall with a concrete parapet which had to be negotiated when walking along those back roads.

    I used Inverness Road when heading towards Laindon Station on my way to Archer Clarke’s shop to get my Meccano Magazine. This came out every month and to a ten year old boy in 1957 it was hugely important. I remember all the boarded up houses in Inverness Road, there was one impressive dwelling called Inverness Lodge which although vacated still appeared to have cats and dogs roaming freely around it. The side roads were unmade, only part of the width being used for motor traffic, if one were brave enough to drive a car on them. Inverness Road had some steeply graded sections which would have made for interesting motoring. In the summer these roads would become dusty trails, the hedges and bushes being absolutely full of wildlife, so attractive to a boy like me from Barking where everything had been urban and regimented. When looking at Laindon now, on a drive through, nothing remains of those fabulous back roads. This makes my memories even more special to me and I can only imagine what it was like in those early days of Pretoria, fascinating times.

    By Richard Haines (01/03/2017)

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