Don's Story - Summary

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		Donald C. Foxley was born on April 3rd 1924, at Withdene, a little cottage on London Road(Watling Street). In 1929 he moved with his family to in the middle of Loughton, and have lived in Loughton since.
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		Don has some wonderful recollections of life on London Rd., making interesting comparisons of those days to "these modern times" as he takes us down memory-lane of London Rd. He describes in detail various Landmarks, houses, businesses and people, including the construction of the "new road project" and the bridge whereby Loughton was by-passed. Don particularly remembers the Fountain and its owner-"a very go-ahead-man", who rented the Withdene from Don's father as a staff-house and eventually bought it. The first-ever neon sign was errected on top of the Withdene to advertise the Fountain. Don recalls the thrill of watching aeroplanes circling over the Fountain bringing in the rich and famous clientelle to patronise the Fountain.
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		Going up the road from the Fountain, towards the Talbot, we hear a detailed description of his grandfather's shop and house. Next-door to that was Miss Polly Benbow's shop, who lived with her brother, a woodworker, also known as a coffin-maker. The Talbot (at the Crossroads), then a Coach-Inn and a popular meeting place was a Landmark in itself, as it still is. Up the hill, was Mr. Edgar Daniels garage who was famous for his entrepreneurship.
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		Next was the Bell Inn, a public house owned by Mr. Holt, also the founder of the Holt Charity (of which Don is one of the trustees). The Bell Inn was eventually demolished and replaced with two bungalows. Coming back down the road, on the opposite side, across the Talbot, were two county-council cottages. One of them was housed by the local policeman, and the other by Mr. Johnson, the steam-roller man. Also at the Crossroads, was the old Co-op shop "which sold almost everything in the food line". Next were the allotment fields, a few more houses and the Plough, "a lower end of the scale publichouse". Don brings us back to Withdene ending with the new road that's now built opposite the Fountain, once part of Withdene's garden .

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