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Can You Identify These Locations? (20)

Published on: 28 Feb, 2012
Updated on: 28 Feb, 2012

by David Rose

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last mystery pictures featuring snow scenes were posted. I have now added the two comments received.

Ian Plowman correctly identified the second picture as being the Castle Grounds. It shows the path that follows what was, in Medieval times, a ditch around the keep, or tower.

Do you know where this transport cafe (open day and night) was, on the London Road, Guildford?

The keep is away to the right, with today’s bowling green area of the Castle Grounds up above the steep slope to the left.

Ian suggested the first picture shows the River Wey near Millmead Lock, looking upstream. Bernard Parke also thought it shows this view.

That’s interesting, as my assumption is a spot further upstream. Ian and Bernard may be correct, but I think there are possibly too many trees shown beside the river that was then, and still is, the Guilford Boathouse.

My opinion is that it is beyond St Catherine’s, and past the sharp bend where the original river goes off to the left (towards Shalford) and the navigation heads towards St Catherine’s Lock.

Look closely, as there appears to be a wooden footbridge over the natural river. There is no bridge there now in either the Millmead suggestion, or mine.

On to this week’s, and two pictures that have not been published before of a roadside cafe. These snapshots from about the 1930s were given to me by Guildford resident Alma Schofield. She told me the cafe was on the London Road – north of Burpham and before Send and Ripley.

Today that part of the A3 is, of course, dual carriageway.

Does anyone remember this cafe – and can they say exactly where it was?

All replies will be added in a week’s time.

Do you recall the location of this roadside cafe ‘in the trees’?

3 Responses to “Can You Identify These Locations? (20)”

  1. The photographs are of the Three Frogs Cafe at Burnt Common, Send, on the old Portsmouth road (which is not dual carriageway there), just downhill from the Shell garage roundabout. With a magnifying glass the name can be read above the verandah. What the Baileys think is a milestone is in fact the lower trunk of of a tree bearing the ‘Transport Cafe’ sign. The original 20-acre site was bought about 1928 by Thomas Gillett who had recently beaten the 24-hour record at the Montlhery motor track near Paris. He set up the Montlhery Poultry Farm and later the cafe. Gillett sold part of the site to “Ginger” Hamilton, another racing driver, and he set up a garage and petrol station near the cafe. There is still a garage there for sports cars. The cafe closed during the war but re-opened for a while. Behind it an extensive caravan site grew up post WW2.

  2. David & Ann Bailey says:

    We think what appears to be a mile stone post shown in the first photo is now the corner of Mile Stone Close / Portsmouth Road Ripley, opposite Barretts Garden Buildings.

  3. Bernard Parke says:

    I believe it to be just down from Burnt Common were there is a car showroom now.

    It once featured in an old comedy film.

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