Dunclutha

[Felicity]

There used to be a building at the top of Dunclutha Road which I undertand was a convent during the latter part of the last century. If any one knows anything about this building, possibly called "Dunclutha" prior to being a convent I would love to hear about it. Thank you

[patrick]

Felicity,Dunclutha Road did not come into existence until 1948 or 49,then St.John's Nursing Home (Community of the Nursing Sisters of St.John the Divine) was established..There was a 'Dunclutha' in St.Helen's Park Road,and a 'Dunclutha Lodge' as well,these were private houses.. The 1953 Kelly's Directory has also a Dunclutha Lodge and a Dunclutha Gardens as well as the Home on the East Side,on the other West side lived a Fred.Woor (St.Helen's Wood)..So it seems that the Home was a converted private house,,further research tells me that in 1933 it was a boys prep school run by a Miss Mole,she was a resident there in the 1920's,this was when it was St.Helens Park..if you wish to research it more fully the Reference library has all the Directories and maps of that area..

[Felicity]

Thankyou Patrick. Do you know how I could go about getting more personal info on this intriguing building, peoples memories, stories etc? I understand it was demolished in 2000. There seems to be nothing written about Duncluthe in any of the local history books.

[patrick]

Felicity,The Reference Library will have maps of that particular area,both before and after Dunclutha was built,also Directories of the 1890's (Pikes and Kelly's) and after..For more personal memories you can perhaps contact some of the older residents in Dunclutha Road,they will surely remember that the lady who seemed to own a lot of land around there was in continuous dispute with Hastings Council,a dispute that dragged on for many years.For the background on that issue perhaps the Town Hall can help,the Library may have kept a file on it and there are always the back issues of the Observer to look through,the latter is hard work as you tend to get distracted by the events of yesteryear..

[Geoff]

Patrick, you are very knowledgable with local history issues. If you fancy writing any snippets for our history section they would be much appreciated.

Geoff

[Felicity]

Thats a good idea Patrick, thank you. I understand the lady who was in constant dispute wth the council was the owner of Shining Cliff, this is / was a building behind the site of Duclutha.
I hope you may also be able to help me with another question I have regarding a building in St Leonards called Levettly (sorry for the spelling!). It was the home of an MP called Du Cross at the start of the previous century. It is suspected that tyhe fire which destroyed Levettly was started by womens liberation group. The ground flor was rebuilt as 2 bungalows, retaining the beautiful facade. Is it true that this ground floor has been demolished?? Also, what had Du Cross done to provoke the womens lib to burn his house down?

[patrick]

Arthur du Cros was an outspoken opponent of the sufragettes who were suspected of setting fire to 'Levetleigh' in Dane Road in April 1913..All that remains are two bungalows..He succeeded his father,Harvey du Cros in 1908.The father was the founder of the Dunlop Tyre Company..The family were from Dublin and of Hugeneot extraction..Sheila Kaye-Smith who lived opposite the house was suspected of having a hand in the attack..A.du cros lived a very interesting life,intermediary for the Royal Family in a blackmail case,the King used to stay at his Bognor house,Bogger Bognor !,lost his money because of the war..What is the connection between him and Barbara Pym ?..if you Google you will see a picture of the house in all its glory..

[Felicity]

You're a wealth of information Patrick! So do i Google and type Levetleigh??

[jo]

[quoted]
Felicity wrote:
There used to be a building at the top of Dunclutha Road which I undertand was a convent during the latter part of the last century. If any one knows anything about this building, possibly called "Dunclutha" prior to being a convent I would love to hear about it. Thank you
[/quoted]

My family new the nun's at St John's and there nanny was a patient there. I have memories as a child of the building and playing there

Jo

[Gillian]

[Dear Felicity
I have also been trying to discover what happened to the old building in Dunclutha Road so I was delighted to finally find somebody who knew something about the history of the area. Shining Cliff was built by Stoney and Edmund Passam who were friends of my parents and who owned seven acres surrounding their house where they had a small holding and grew all their own stuff. As a small child I recall sitting in the long greenhouse on a stone south wall containing a huge grape vine. We spent most of our holidays there as I was growing up and a dirt road lead up the hill! I think the house you are referring too must have been the large old Edwardian style house next door - it was owned by a lady called Willow who ran Isadora Duncan style dancing classes in the garden each summer which my sister and I took part in and had lots of fun. I am sorry to learn that the house was demolished and I expect the area is completely built up now. I emigrated to Australia in the early 70's and haven't been back to that area since but I have very happy memories of the times I spent there and hope to visit again one day.