Back to Back house living conditions

[mw0njm.]

istorical accounts and personal testimonies widely confirm that living in traditional back-to-back houses was associated with
terrible living conditions, characterized by poor sanitation, severe lack of ventilation, and overcrowding

• Lack of Ventilation and Light: Because these houses shared three of their four walls, with the front wall having the only windows and door, there was no through-flow of air. This led to damp, ill-lit, and stuffy living spaces, which contributed to higher rates of infectious diseases.
• Inadequate Sanitation: Most back-to-backs lacked private toilets or a direct water supply. Instead, several households shared a few communal toilets (earth closets) and a single standpipe in an enclosed courtyard. These communal facilities were often unhygienic and a breeding ground for disease.
• Overcrowding and Lack of Space: Built during the Industrial Revolution to house a rapidly growing working-class population at minimum cost, the houses were small, often only one room deep, with little regard for comfort or quality of life. Multiple family members would often live in a single room.
• Substandard Construction: Many were "jerry-built" quickly and cheaply by private landlords, which resulted in structural issues, dampness, and dilapidation.
• Soot-Laden Atmosphere: The surrounding industrial environment meant that the air was often heavy with soot, further affecting the health and quality of life of the residents.
• These articles detail the poor living conditions, inadequate sanitation, and health hazards associated with back-to-back houses:

BBC Inside Out - Back to back housing

 

[mw0njm.]

BBC BACK TO BACK TERRACES​

​

Birmingham's back to backs were built to house the rapidly increasing working population that swelled Britain's expanding industrial towns.
The houses in Birmingham are the last surviving example of 'court' style back to back housing in England.
The rows of houses were literally built 'back to back' one room deep.
The typical back to back house has three rooms, one above the other.
The housing became renowned for squalor, disease and poverty due to its cramped design and poor sanitation.
So what was it like to live in a back to back?
We approach the houses from a main street although most are reached from a tight entry leading into a squalid yard.

​

The squalid and smelly courtyard

On entering the courtyard, we can see women washing clothes, families using the communal lavatories, and rubbish being stored in miskins.
Once inside the house, we enter a pokey downstairs scullery with a sink and a couple of shelves.
This acts as a kitchen, dining room and living room, and sometimes a workshop.
Upstairs there's two bedrooms shared by six people. Bugs, vermin and silverfish infest the room.
We hold our noses as the pungent yard smells waft through the windows. The stench is overwhelmin

 

[mw0njm.]

ours was dreadfull the next door woman pored the slop bucket down her sink of a morning and stunk us out there was rats in the loft running about of a night and loads of bugs we slept 3 in a bed 1 girl 2 lads we was 10 when we left the roof fell in on us when we was in bed and my sis had to go away
to a home she had TB we had imbatigo and spent most of the time at the skin hospital.