For people new to the area it is sometimes difficult to locate where these old places on this site were. The famous teapot is one such example. The place where it stood, and Highclere, the mansion house who's land the teapot gardens resided, have been so re-developed that absolutely no trace of them exists today. In fact, even a large part of the housing oppostite has changed as well. So we have to look for other reference points. On the face of it the following two photos have nothing in common, except for the road running from bottom left to the middle. But look again. In the Then photo there is a large tree on the opposite side of the road. It is still there today as can be seen in the Now photo, 60 years older but you can still see the branch layout. In fact, look further down the road and there is another tree which, in the Then photo, had just been pruned back but the lean to the left of that tree is the same today. So, without the help of locals who have lived in Biggin Hill for many years (although their knowledge is invaluable to sites like this), we can deduce that the teapot stood in a garden that was located where 'Biggin Hill Shopmobility' now stands. Or near enough anyway! ("Brilliant deduction, Holmes!") For a more conclusive positioning of the teapot go to Main Road 8.

Stan Weeks