Tag Archives: Spit and Lean

Jean Maitland: Harbour breakwater construction, 1930s

Piling crew who rebuilt the pier and harbour

Piling crew who rebuilt the pier and harbour in 1930s: photo Jean Maitland

Bob Cook’s grandfather, Bob Buckett, and Jack Payne, Fred Wadham and my Dad, Bill Levey, they put in all the piles for the harbour breakwater by hand. You wouldn’t have had a pier or breakwater if it wasn’t for them. You can see their piling rig in the photo, the crab winch in the background was part of it. See the length of pipe in his hand?
They would push it on the winch brake handle so you could hold the brake on – the handles on them were never long enough. Winching that weight up time and time again, to knock the piles in, that was hard work wasn’t it eh? The times they went in the tide under the pier when they were rebuilding it! Look at the clothes they wore in those days, didn’t have overalls and if it rained they got wet. My Dad fell in, sea boots and all. Good job he was a good swimmer.

I can always remember how the old men used to get down the Spit and Lean on the Quay,  spinning yarns.  You know how these old boys like to yarn.
Jean Maitland nee Levey

Pauline Harwood: Harbour, old quay 1930s

old bullnosed quay with crane 1930s

old bullnosed quay with crane 1930s

I was left on the Quay with my Grandmother from London, – I wasn’t very old,- in a pram under the Spit and Lean. That was taken down when the coalyard was knocked into the Quay.  Blakes Coalyard was handy for the blacksmith’s shop across the road.

Round  the corner where the pigsties were and the steps used to go down to the sea my sister Audrey who was 7 years older than me used to take me and John down the steps and anybody dinghy that was there, we used to get in it and  row somewhere.  We used to do that then.

Pauline Harwood nee Hatch  b1930