Leysdown-on-Sea in the Mid-1960's - a photo on Flickriver

Leysdown-on-Sea in the Mid-1960's

            The Postcard

A postally unused postcard with a divided back bearing no publisher's name. The card was published in the mid-1960's, and was printed in Great Britain.

The 'B' registration suffix on the red and white cars was issued in 1964.

Leysdown-on-Sea

Leysdown-on-Sea is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Sheppey in the borough of Swale in Kent.  It is three miles to the ESE of Eastchurch. To the southwest is an area of marshland known as the Leysdown marshes.  In 2020 the village had an estimated population of 936.

History of Leysdown-on-Sea

It is noted in the Domesday Book as being called "Legesdun." The name is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon words Leswe (pasture) and Dun (hill).

A very small hamlet up to late Victorian times, it was developed a little after the arrival of the Sheppey Light Railway in 1903, though grand plans for the establishment of a large resort with hotels never materialised. The railway was closed and demolished in the 1950's.

On the 2nd. May 1909, John Moore-Brabazon became the first British citizen to make a powered heavier-than-air flight in the UK, flying from the Aero Club's ground at Leysdown in his Voisin biplane Bird of Passage.

Economy of Leysdown-on-Sea

There are several large farms surrounding the village, with a mixture of pasture and arable land, but the local economy is primarily driven by tourism in the summer months, with many visitors coming from London. 

Leysdown has one of the largest concentrations of holiday parks in Kent, with many caravan and chalet parks. During the winter months the shops, clubs and pubs stay open, with the population of Leysdown, Warden and Bay View providing custom. 

In the past few years a boot fair has become a regular fixture on Sundays, and there is also a market on Saturdays.

In the early 20th. century a significant part of the economy came from the embryonic aviation industry, with the UK's first aircraft factory being built in Leysdown in 1909 by the Short Brothers.

Leysdown is well known for its family amusement arcades adjacent to the sea. There are 6 arcades, each with its own 18-only section with high jackpots. Some arcades give tickets from their many machines which can be exchanged for small trinkets, toys and other prizes.

Landmarks

The Spinney is an area of open space in the middle of Leysdown, with a children's play area and benches. It takes its name from the woodland that was there until the 1960's.

Leysdown also has one of the UK's few official naturist beaches, sited beyond the town along an un-made road.

Taken on: June 12, 2022

Tags:

postcard

old

nostalgia

nostalgic

Leysdown

Sea

divided

back

printed

Great

Britain

registration

suffix

cars

1964

35EYS45

Isle

Sheppey

Swale

Kent

Eastchurch

marshland

marshes

light

railway

1903

1909

John

Moore

Brabazon

Voisin

Bird

Passage

farms

tourism

caravan

chalet

parks

amusement

arcades

Spinney

naturist

beach « less

Sets appears in: • UK • Vintage Cars and Other Motor Vehicles

Stats: 4,794 views

close tools panel

Badge creator

Use Flickriver Badge Creator to create a badge linking to your photos, your group or any other Flickriver view.

You can place your badge on your Flickr profile, Blog or Website.

Add to your iGoogle or Netvibes page

Flickriver widget for iGoogle or Netvibes can display almost any Flickriver view - most interesting today, by user, by group, by tag etc. Once added to your personalized homepage, just edit widget settings to select your desired view.

Clickr on one of the buttons below to install:

Embed on your Web site

To embed this view, Copy and Paste the following HTML code:

Black background (preview):

White background (preview):

Firefox and Chrome addons

Adds a 'Flickriver' button to your browser. While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on this button to open the same view on Flickriver.

Install in Firefox
Install in Chrome

Search plugin

Add 'Search on Flickriver' to your browser's search box. Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer. Install search plugin

"View on Flickriver" Greasemonkey script

A Greasemonkey script that adds Flickriver links to various Flickr photo pages - user photos, favorites, pools etc, allowing to quickly open the corresponding Flickriver view.

Also, allows quickly viewing any Flickr photo on black background in large size.

Install "View on Flickriver" script

Bookmarklet

While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on the bookmarklet to open the same view on Flickriver.

To install: drag and drop the following link to your Bookmarks toolbar.
IE users - add the link to your Favorites under the Links folder