A visit from Pat Bromfield - Sunday 14th September 2003

We were thrilled to meet Mrs Pat Bromfield, widow of Les Bromfield who
passed away 10 years ago. Mrs Bromfield is a spritely lady of 85 years
who has many happy memories of living at Atherfield. She was accompanied
by Trudy who was as eager to see the house as Mrs Bromfield! A lovely
afternoon was spent remembering Atherfield as it was in 1945 to 1955.


This photo was taken circa 1950 with Mrs Bromfield and her
daughter sitting on the front lawn.

At this time there was no door between the kitchen and the sunroom
and the door between the front sitting room and the kitchen is also
a later addition. The door between the coachman's residence and the
"yellow room" upstairs was added later. Mrs Bromfield thought this door
might have been installed by Warren Soundy, who was the next owner.

The floor of the front verandah was made of timber planks, which the
Bromfields replaced with concrete because the boards were very worn.
The wooden garage was built by the Bromfields and they also built stables
in the north west paddock, which unfortunately are no longer standing.

The laundry looks much the same today as it did in 1945 - we suspected
that might be the case! The washing line was located between the garage and
the coachman's residence and the tap room was used as an ironing room.
The coachman's residence was used as accommodation for the live-in help.

As Atherfield was one of the only houses on the Glenora Road, often
motorists would knock on the door requesting to buy petrol or use the
telephone. This would happen at all hours of the day (and night) and
Mrs Bromfield remembers feeling a little nervous when it was late at
night and Mr Bromfield was away from home. When Mr Bromfield
returned home, he could see Atherfield from quite a distance because
it was lit up "like the Crystal Palace", with all the lights left on!

It was a real pleasure to listen to Mrs Bromfield's memories and catch
a glimpse of life as it was at Atherfield 50 years ago. It certainly
helps brings the history of the house to life and it a pleasure to hear
that Atherfield is a source of happy memories for those who lived here.