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National Trust Back to Back houses and memories of them

mw0njm. said:
Whitewash was made by soaking quicklime (CaO) in water.Applying this to wood was sufficient to kill most bacteria on the surface
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Tallow , in my time as an apprentice electrician we would use tallow as a lubricant for threading conduit . After a day of cutting and thread tube the smell would permeate your clothes.
You would always plan to complete all cutting and threading as early as possible in the week to avoid going out on a Friday night without the fragrance of tallow on you
 
Covroad said:
Tallow , in my time as an apprentice electrician we would use tallow as a lubricant for threading conduit . After a day of cutting and thread tube the smell would permeate your clothes.
You would always plan to complete all cutting and threading as early as possible in the week to avoid going out on a Friday night without the fragrance of tallow on you
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We used to buy tallow candles for our saws too.
 
joeboybollo said:
Born in one in 1944, up a courtyard, and lived there for 14 years.All you said, plus bed bugs and mice! Both of which my dad regularly hunted! We lived in Bishop Street near the markets. It did make me very grounded though and taught me to appreciate how relatively well off I became.And to feel empathy to the homeless or people in crap housing.Consequenyly I saved to buy my own house in Halesowen before I married.

Yes,a peck's a peck. Absolutely.
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What did you do to get rid of the bed bugs
 
Not a back to back, no back, but I discovered my birth father's family had lived with 10 children in a farm cottage which came with a job. There was no living room as the downstairs bit was a barn, then a small room with the stairs in, kitchen with an over mantle and a scullery. Two bedrooms upstairs, The front door was up a flight of steps right on the road the back door opened on to a field with a pond with the back of the pigsty at right angles leading off the cottage. Water was fetched from a spring. The children used to run and jump off the pig sty roof to clear the pond till one fell in and almost drowned. My Birth Granny rescued them.
 
Incidentally my old house, built in 1906 had a very small back garden with a shared entry by 4 people, pretty common I suppose but my old neighbour told me there was one water pump on her yard shared by the 4 houses that had rear entry access. They used to have little iron railings on the forecourts at the front which were sawn off and melted down for the war effort but were totally useless but said to be good for morale!
 
Stokkie said:
View attachment 174031View attachment 174032
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Visited for the first time yesterday. The doll is made from a shoe, skipping rope from bobbins. Peggy dolls. View from button makers window. His stock of glass eyes out of sight in the drawer. A tour with a party of 8 including guide. Most of us old Brummies familiar with damp and outside toilets though we had no first hand experience in living in a Back-to-Back as I know others here have. The tour moves from house to house and the set is dressed with props brought in from National Trust Stock. An engaging guide who encouraged questions. I looked down the cellar and we went to the unrestored front of the property in Inge St which had crumbling plaster and filth. Plenty of discussion of vermin, disease and infant mortality. There were a couple of sound recordings of people who had lived there. On the whole not a bad representation of working class life given they don't have the space of the Black Country Museum.
 
Nico said:
Incidentally my old house, built in 1906 had a very small back garden with a shared entry by 4 people, pretty common I suppose but my old neighbour told me there was one water pump on her yard shared by the 4 houses that had rear entry access. They used to have little iron railings on the forecourts at the front which were sawn off and melted down for the war effort but were totally useless but said to be good for morale!
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i haver had a garden at all untill i was 10,the front door step when right onto the pavement.
 
Well done that man!....The original product,Flit insecticide was invented by chemist Dr. Franklin C. Nelson

A Flit gun is a hand-pumped insecticide sprayer used to dispense FLIT, a brand-name insecticide widely used against flies and mosquitoes between 1928 and the mid-1950s. Although named after the well-known brand, "Flit gun" became a generic name for this type of dispenser.
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thomas mc said:
not sure if the house was the problem or the people who lived in them
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The people who lived in them were people like us, in my own case my parents and grandparents. My grandmother was born on a barge in Tipton Basin, but she became a domestic servant. Eventually she moved to leafy Edgbaston and as servants do, lived in shared accommodation in the attic.

She married the gardener who taught her to read and write. As a couple they could not live in, so they lived in Parker Street and walked to work each day. Eventually they were able to move to Reservoir Terrace off Osler Street Ladywood. This was an improvement as there was a small garden and they could enjoy the views of Rotten Park Reservoir. They lost two children, then raised my mother and her sister who attended school.

My Aunt moved to the countryside on marriage. My mom kept house for her invalid mother. Mom lived with Dad there until after the war he was able to take out a mortgage and move to Bearwood. And so I was born.

I am proud to say these are my people. Some of the houses were eventually 'little palaces'. There was a tremendous community spirit among the old neighbours I met. It is important to recognise that my Grandmother did 'better herself' from living on a barge (the canals were in recession then). They were able to attend Birmingham Botanical Gardens often. I've lived in a two up and two down house with one cold tap and no inside toilet, heated by a coal fire in the living room.

It would be easy to respond to your post with anger, but I think you need to show some empathy.
 
I agree with you Stokkie - I was "brung up" in a back to back in Newtown until I was 6; outside toilet, tin bath, brew house, mangle, miskins, etc. It was all we could afford, and people who lived in these houses were very proud, hard working, honourable folk who did their best for their families.
 
Stokkie said:
The people who lived in them were people like us, in my own case my parents and grandparents. My grandmother was born on a barge in Tipton Basin, but she became a domestic servant. Eventually she moved to leafy Edgbaston and as servants do, lived in shared accommodation in the attic.

She married the gardener who taught her to read and write. As a couple they could not live in, so they lived in Parker Street and walked to work each day. Eventually they were able to move to Reservoir Terrace off Osler Street Ladywood. This was an improvement as there was a small garden and they could enjoy the views of Rotten Park Reservoir. They lost two children, then raised my mother and her sister who attended school.

My Aunt moved to the countryside on marriage. My mom kept house for her invalid mother. Mom lived with Dad there until after the war he was able to take out a mortgage and move to Bearwood. And so I was born.

I am proud to say these are my people. Some of the houses were eventually 'little palaces'. There was a tremendous community spirit among the old neighbours I met. It is important to recognise that my Grandmother did 'better herself' from living on a barge (the canals were in recession then). They were able to attend Birmingham Botanical Gardens often. I've lived in a two up and two down house with one cold tap and no inside toilet, heated by a coal fire in the living room.

It would be easy to respond to your post with anger, but I think you need to show some empathy.
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Stokkie,
A very informative piece that reflects not only on your social history, but I am sure it touches on others memories . It certainly does for me , thank you for sharing.
 
my dad worked 6 days a week in a foundry to keep 5 of us in a very small b2b. that was falling down.one night when us kids we was all pilled into a double bed the roof fell in on to the bedroom ceiling, that come down bringing allsorts down on us. the police ambo estates ets come dug us out of the rubble. we stopped with friends and was given another house next day .the neighbours all had a wipp around finding sheets etc bedding for us.
 
thomas mc said:
not sure if the house was the problem or the people who lived in them
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well thomas you clearly have not studied social history...i was born in my nans back to back and lived there until i was 6 and my brother was 3....1 bedroom...1 attic shared by my mom ..dad..brother and nan ..1 tiny living room...cooker in the living room and coal fire...small pantry..shared toilets in the yard and shared dustbins..the houses were damp and very badly built which caused all sorts of problems..none of this was the fault of the people who lived in these houses..most people were very proud of the little they had and even living in poverty kept them very clean and tidy...my nan being a widow held down 3 jobs just to make ends meet her husband served in ww1 and died just before the start of ww2 leaving nan to raise 3 daughters by herself..nan lived in her back to back from about 1907 until about 1968...she just did not want to leave and was one of the last to leave her home due to demolition of what was called the slum clearances ..we continued to visit nan until she moved and i can honestly say i can not remember ever being unhappy living there..yes we can call them slum houses but please do not get the idea that the people who lived in them were slum people because it simply is not true...comments like yours can be very hurtful and can cause offence to those who through no fault of their own grew up in badly built houses and came out the other side...a testimony to their great strength of character and die hard attitude...

lyn
 
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It seems that bed bugs are as common as head lice in the UK but it doesn't mean that people who get infested are dirty and unclean. My children came home from school with headlice and so have our Grandchildren, they spread so easily and the whole school ends up needing treatment including the teachers probably.

How common are bed bugs in the UK

  • If you live in a block of flats, this increases your chances of getting them in your home if one flat has them already. They can travel from flat to flat.
  • Another way they can turn up in your home is if they are brought inside. A friend or a family member can bring them if they were in an infested place before that. Bed bugs will hitchhike on clothes, bags, shoes. The worst thing is that even one female bug can create an entire infestation in your house.
  • Bed bugs can also be brought into your home after your holiday or work trip. If you stay in an infested hotel room, you are almost 100% guaranteed to bring them back home.
  • They can also enter your home with the purchase of second-hand furniture. Bed bugs don’t only live on beds or near them. They can live in other pieces of furniture that people spend a lot of time on. Be extremely careful if you are buying used furniture.
  • Used clothes can also have bed bugs on them. And even new clothes can have them. If a person who has an infestation has tried something on and you buy it, even one bed bug can be on it and then lay eggs in your home.
 
Astoness said:
well thomas you clearly have not studied social history...i was born in my nans back to back and lived there until i was 6 and my brother was 3....1 bedroom...1 attic shared by my mom ..dad..brother and nan ..1 tiny living room...cooker in the living room and coal fire...small pantry..shared toilets in the yard and shared dustbins..the houses were damp and very badly built which caused all sorts of problems..none of this was the fault of the people who lived in these houses..most people were very proud of the little they had and even living in poverty kept them very clean and tidy...my nan being a widow held down 3 jobs just to make ends meet her husband served in ww1 and died just before the start of ww2 leaving nan to raise 3 daughters by herself..nan lived in her back to back from about 1907 until about 1968...she just did not want to leave and was one of the last to leave her home due to demolition of what was called the slum clearances ..we continued to visit nan until she moved and i can honestly say i can not remember ever being unhappy living there..yes we can call them slum houses but please do not get the idea that the people who lived in them were slum people because it simply is not true...comments like yours can be very hurtful and can cause offence to those who through no fault of their own grew up in badly built houses and came out the other side...a testimony to their great strength of character and die hard attitude...

lyn
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Beautifully and accurately put Lyn! And although it starts to sound like the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen's sketch - this really is how it was. We did pick up wood from the demolition sites (bomb pecks) on the way home from school to burn for heating if the coal hole was empty. Roofs leaked, windows rattled (especially where the glass was missing). Staircase was so steep it was like climbing a mountain. Bath night was an entire night as it took so long to heat up enough water. But we were happy! Like you we were virtually the last out of our street (Guildford) in early 1968. But I can still remember it vividly!
 
Astoness said:
well thomas you clearly have not studied social history...i was born in my nans back to back and lived there until i was 6 and my brother was 3....1 bedroom...1 attic shared by my mom ..dad..brother and nan ..1 tiny living room...cooker in the living room and coal fire...small pantry..shared toilets in the yard and shared dustbins..the houses were damp and very badly built which caused all sorts of problems..none of this was the fault of the people who lived in these houses..most people were very proud of the little they had and even living in poverty kept them very clean and tidy...my nan being a widow held down 3 jobs just to make ends meet her husband served in ww1 and died just before the start of ww2 leaving nan to raise 3 daughters by herself..nan lived in her back to back from about 1907 until about 1968...she just did not want to leave and was one of the last to leave her home due to demolition of what was called the slum clearances ..we continued to visit nan until she moved and i can honestly say i can not remember ever being unhappy living there..yes we can call them slum houses but please do not get the idea that the people who lived in them were slum people because it simply is not true...comments like yours can be very hurtful and can cause offence to those who through no fault of their own grew up in badly built houses and came out the other side...a testimony to their great strength of character and die hard attitude...

lyn
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Thanks Lyn,
It is important to record our memories, to take pride in our communities often now dispersed and look at social conditions without nostalgia. I'm glad that the National Trust now often includes a tour of the kitchens and the servants' quarters in the big houses and in Birmingham a single block of houses. Of course this can only give us an impression of what it was like especially to our children and grandchildren. Derek
 
Covroad said:
Stokkie,
A very informative piece that reflects not only on your social history, but I am sure it touches on others memories . It certainly does for me , thank you for sharing.
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You are welcome Covroad. I think we need to record social history for later generations. Do write down your memories and post on here. Derek
 
Mark Tooze said:
I agree with you Stokkie - I was "brung up" in a back to back in Newtown until I was 6; outside toilet, tin bath, brew house, mangle, miskins, etc. It was all we could afford, and people who lived in these houses were very proud, hard working, honourable folk who did their best for their families.
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Thanks Mark, I've used a tin bath in front of the fire on bath night and turned the handle of a mangle, but escaped the miskins! Used a posher in a maiding tub too. We eventually got a spin drier, but all the washing was done by hand. We had two gas boilers in the kitchen, one for clothes and the other filled on bath night. There was an enamel bath at the end of the kitchen/bathroom near the stove. But mom kept the tin bath in an outhouse.Derek
 
thomas mc said:
not sure if the house was the problem or the people who lived in them
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The people in these poor hosing condition did not choose to live like that. The root cause of poor living conditions is poverty. Its quite easy and unproductive to blame people for being in poverty, especially when the people doing the blaming had never experienced true poverty or the limitations poverty imposed on people preventing them form getting out of it.

Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash. Poverty is disempowering and disenabling that leaves people constantly feeling wrenched, unempowered and a failure. Poverty is also a best kept secret, the people in poverty would do their utmost best to keep it a secret.

Poverty closes too many doors to the opportunity of getting out of it.

Living in Birmingham as I have done and still do, I would often see opportunity denied, potential unfulfilled and talent unused. It is not a lifestyle choice.
 
Stokkie said:
Thanks Mark, I've used a tin bath in front of the fire on bath night and turned the handle of a mangle, but escaped the miskins! Used a posher in a maiding tub too. We eventually got a spin drier, but all the washing was done by hand. We had two gas boilers in the kitchen, one for clothes and the other filled on bath night. There was an enamel bath at the end of the kitchen/bathroom near the stove. But mom kept the tin bath in an outhouse.Derek
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You were lucky to have two boilers.or even one
 
Stokkie said:
Thanks Mark, I've used a tin bath in front of the fire on bath night and turned the handle of a mangle, but escaped the miskins! Used a posher in a maiding tub too. We eventually got a spin drier, but all the washing was done by hand. We had two gas boilers in the kitchen, one for clothes and the other filled on bath night. There was an enamel bath at the end of the kitchen/bathroom near the stove. But mom kept the tin bath in an outhouse.Derek
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I remember doing the bedsheets in the cast iron mangle with my sister , got my fingers trapped between the wood rollers. Cost me a couple finger nails and pain for a few days, but a lesson learnt on basic communications when using the mangle with another person involved!!
The mangle from a design and functionality aspect was a fantastic piece of engineering you could tension the rollers to suit, the excess water ran down the wooden water catchment shut.
 
Stokkie said:
The people who lived in them were people like us, in my own case my parents and grandparents. My grandmother was born on a barge in Tipton Basin, but she became a domestic servant. Eventually she moved to leafy Edgbaston and as servants do, lived in shared accommodation in the attic.

She married the gardener who taught her to read and write. As a couple they could not live in, so they lived in Parker Street and walked to work each day. Eventually they were able to move to Reservoir Terrace off Osler Street Ladywood. This was an improvement as there was a small garden and they could enjoy the views of Rotten Park Reservoir. They lost two children, then raised my mother and her sister who attended school.

My Aunt moved to the countryside on marriage. My mom kept house for her invalid mother. Mom lived with Dad there until after the war he was able to take out a mortgage and move to Bearwood. And so I was born.

I am proud to say these are my people. Some of the houses were eventually 'little palaces'. There was a tremendous community spirit among the old neighbours I met. It is important to recognise that my Grandmother did 'better herself' from living on a barge (the canals were in recession then). They were able to attend Birmingham Botanical Gardens often. I've lived in a two up and two down house with one cold tap and no inside toilet, heated by a coal fire in the living room.

It would be easy to respond to your post with anger, but I think you need to show some empathy.
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Very well said Stokkie! Unfortunately in todays world it’s “ gimme, gimme gimme “ back then you worked for what you had or you did not have it. I know some will take umbrage with that.
 
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