Old Paignton

[Keitht]

Hi folks,

I left my childhood home, Paignton, almost fifty years ago and hadn't visited in at least thirty years until a few days ago, for a family occasion. Naturally I went mooching round my old haunts in the vicinity of Lower Polsham Road and the Palace Hotel. I was sad to see that the old family home, Seacroft, on the corner of Steartfield and Norman Roads had disappeared and that only the curtain wall and gates of what was once Oldenburg House on Lower Polsham Road remain. Census returns apppear to suggest that Oldenburg was built some time before 1871, at around the same time as Steartfield, now the Palace Hotel. They also appear to bring into question the accepted wisdom that Steartfield was built for Washington Singer.

Please can anyone tell me:
1, When was Seacroft demolished?
2. Anything at all about Oldenburg House.

If anyone has an image of either which they would be prepared to share I shall be eternally grateful.

Regards,

Keith

[PATc3]

Hi Keitht,

If it is any help you may like to contact the Paignton Society (Paigntonsociety.webs.com) this was formerly the Paignton Preservation and Local History Society.  I am sure they will have some info or guide you to the info, one of their founders Peggy Parnell has written lots of books about old Paignton with lots of pics..

Good luck

[Keitht]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the contact. I'll drop them a line. I have been following Oldenburg House back through the census returns and it certainly housed some interesting charavters;  a sewing cotton manufacturer at he same time that the Singers were at Stertfield, certainly no coincidence; a retired Rear Admiral whose career I've been able to follow; a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Civil Service. I'm back to the 850s and still haven't reached its earliest days.

Thanks again,

Keith

[Mowsehowse]

I have sent a message to Paula, who runs "Paignton in pictures" on facebook and she is going to try and dig something up for you...... Fingers crossed.

[Keitht]

Thank you very much. All help with this one is appreciated.

Keith

[Heathcliff House]

Hi

Interestingly the Manloves that lived at Oldenburg House were related to a family who lived in our house on Newton Road in 1901.  Two of the sisters ended up living in a very nice house in Ashburton.  I wondered if they came for their health!  Do you have any photographs of Oldenburg House?  If you are interested in more detailed info I can provide it.

Kind regards, Juliette

[Keitht]

Hi Juliette,

Thanks for joining in and welcome to Rootschat.

I would very much welcome any information you may be able to provide in respect of Oldenburg House. I'm sorry but I don't have any images of it. If anyone has them I would appreciate images of Oldenburg House, Seacroft (Norman Road) and Torbay House, which stood until about the 1880s on the Esplanade, more or less where the Vue Cinema is now.

Regards,

Keith

[Mowsehowse]

Keith, did you get in touch with facebook "Paignton in Pictures"??

[Keitht]

I had been following P in P for some considerable time before your kind offer to contact Paula. I did send her an e-mail but from memory (and remember this was almost 3 years ago) I got a reply saying she would do what she could but I heard no more from her.

The occasional look at her page is the only reason I go anywhere near Facebook.

I have been back home three or four times since those days and have managed to buy a couple of books on the town's history but those photographs bring back so many memories.