Bohemia Village Voice

Local names
According to Judith Glover, the word ‘Shornden’ came originally from ‘sharden’ meaning a ‘dung pasture’, i.e. woodland pasture where dung is heaped. This is from Old English ‘scearn denn’ which became ‘scharden’ in 1296 and later ‘sharndenne’ in 1307. ‘Shornden Wood at Hastings has the same original meaning and is the recorded home of John de Sarndenne in 1296’. Gensing – The name ‘Gensing’ means ‘Genesa’s people’ and comes from Old English ‘Genesingas’ which became ‘Genesingges’ in 1281 and later, in 1327, ‘Genesing’. The settlement is now lost, but the name is still present in Gensing Road and Gensing Gardens. [Judith Glover The Place Names of Sussex, 1975].
Hastings Cycles 
What will happen to the former premises of Hastings Cycles now that local accountants Sellens French have bought the premises? “We intend to use the ground floor as offices and will be applying for change of use in the near future,” said partner John French. “Rumours that our application has been turned down are quite untrue. We checked out the Council’s attitude before we bought the shop and their attitude was most supportive.”

Pavement works on the west side of Bohemia Road started on 22nd February, as East Sussex County Council finally repaired the pavement from the junction with Tower Road to Cornfield Terrace. Damaged and broken paving slabs along this length of the road had been causing a hazard to pedestrians for a long time.
Cllr Andrew Cartwright said, “Many people know about my long-running campaigns to improve the roads and pavements. One of these started when I heard about an elderly resident who was afraid to walk on one side of Bohemia Road because of the state of the pavement. That was nine months ago and East Sussex County Council have finally agreed to renew the pavement. It’s crazy that we have to wait so long for walkways on a main road to be put right! I’m very glad that Bohemia’s pavements will now be a little safer and smarter.”
There was unavoidable disruption to traffic for three weeks, resulting in many drivers using back streets as a rat-run, and two pedestrian crossings were affected. We understand that shop takings were reported as being down during the period. 
Keith Mason of Newgate Road came into the Voice office to express his concern about the dangers, especially to children, of the pedestrian crossing near Tower Road being closed. While taking his own children to school he had seen an unaccompanied infant trying to cross where the zebra used to be, and had taken him safely across. He said, “Cars coming out of Newgate Road are so busy looking at the traffic and so eager to get out when there’s a space that they don’t see children, or others, crossing.” He said he had contacted East Sussex Highways but felt they had fobbed him off.
The crossing was re-opened as soon as that end of the pavement works was completed, and the crossing by St Paul’s Road was then closed. At least one of these crossings was in operation at any one time.
Traditional paving slabs have been replaced by tarmac, which, regretfully, gives a cheap look to the area.
The process was initially due to last six weeks, but was reduced to three. As we went to press late afternoon Friday 14th March, the works appeared completed, though the lights at the pedestrian crossing at St Paul’s Road were not yet back in operation, and cones, signs, and dismantled barriers were waiting to be collected.