This guest house was situated in Venables Close and backed onto the grounds of the former Furtherwick Park school. It was advertised in the 1953 copy of Captivating Canvey and this prompted me to have a chat with Freda who I originally met a few years ago at the Castle Point Lady Diners Club.
The guesthouse which closed around 1970, was owned and run by Freda Feber’s parent’s-in-law. Her husband Wallace’s parents were Harry and Margaret Feber who died in 1961. They moved onto Canvey possibly in 1948. The family was originally from Romford where Harry worked at Fords for 40 years. When he retired Freda thinks he bought the guesthouse, which Freda thinks was a former doctor’s surgery, as a retirement project. Apparently he also bought a 12-seater Thames bus and he’d use it to take and fetch the men who worked at Fords. He also had a large Hayter lawnmower to cope with the big garden of the guesthouse and sometimes he helped out neighbours with cutting their grass. The guesthouse had 6 bedrooms, one toilet and separate bathroom upstairs and downstairs an outside loo. There was also a tiny kitchen and scullery. A separate flat on one side was also for summer visitors. At one time they’d had relatives from Oldham to stay regularly and occasionally the police would ask them to put up ‘waifs and strays’ temporarily.
At some point in the 1970s it was demolished and possibly in the 1980s a block of flats was built there.
Comments about this page
In Oct 1947 there was a planning application put forward for a Greenhouse by a J. SHAW at Furtherwick Guest House.
Furtherwick Park Guesthouse was the original Abbeyfield. Abbeyfield moved to their current location (formally a Drs Surgery) in 1991 sometime after it was demolished and the new retirement place was built.
Venables road used to be called Sweet Briar Walk.
It was suggested that a Doctor used to own the Building.
Planning approved on 20 April 1926 by Dr N. WHEATLEY
Yes Jan P, I remember your in depth profile of Sonia Galperin and her good works around Canvey. I guess the Abbeyfields in Sweetbriar Close also had the name of Sweetbriar Lodge and originally it was not a close but a road which ran parallel to Bramble Rd and sort of ‘ petering out’ in the field where Furtherwick Pk School was built probably just behind the big ‘Cottage Hospital’ notice board. Apparently there were no properties built on it!
After the Abbeyfields was moved to The Londons on the corner of Kitkatts Rd/Long Rd, another former doctor’s residence, as you mentioned (Dr Stevens, I think) when Gordon Saunders redeveloped the site with the flats that are there now I think the ground floor accommodation was exclusively for the elderly and was managed by his sister.
Was this first building blocks of his care home empire ?? 🙂🤔. Graham.
I lived in Runnymede Road in the 40s and50s, and remember Dr Stevens’ Surgery on the corner with Long Road. I have a clear memory of my Mum taking me to the Surgery, and at the end of my examination, Mum asking Dr Stevens “How much will that be, please, Doctor?”, and the Doctor replying, “Oh, you don’t have to pay anymore, Mrs Licence; it’s all free now.”.
Add a comment about this page