Kent - Deal: Petone, Church Path, Upper Deal

Deal is a coastal town in Kent, 8 miles north-east of Dover and 8 miles south of Ramsgate.  The coast of France is approximately 25 miles from the town and is visible on clear days.

Petone, on Church Path, Upper Deal, was the home of George Coleman Sladden (eldest brother of Julius Sladden) and his wife, Elizabeth (née Potter), known as Lizzie.  They moved there in 1900, having previously lived in Glasgow.  Petone was a reference to Petone in New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, where George’s brother, Dilnot, lived.  The name, Petone, from the Maori Pito-one, means "end of the sand beach" – perhaps not the most appropriate name for a house in Deal which has a pebble beach.

George died at Deal in 1909.  Lizzie remained at Petone and was listed in the 1911 census as living there with one servant.  She died at Petone in 1914.