• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Slums

We didnt know any better as kids did we, it was our parents who worked hard to protect us from any problems they had.
 
to true caroline
my dad in and out of work through ill health but he did more than his best for us as well as mom
he use to make shadows on the wall when we had to use candles to keep us amused he was the best like meny other fathers of that time
josie
 
One of our members (Astoness) recently suggested that I look on the Shoothill site for some photos of places my ancestors had once lived. An excellent site with many photos of slum housing, among many other things. But what was also interesting from the photos is that there seems to have been a programme of slum reconditioning or reconstruction (albeit quite small?). What I hadn't appreciated until looking through the images was that not all slums were left to fall down or were cleared. Courts which we're reconditioned or reconstructed include in William St, Trent St, Darwin St, Talbot St, Cooksey Rd, Ormond St, Duke St .... It's well worth a look. Type in 'slums', 'reconditioned' or 'reconstructed' to bring up the photos here:


https://damsdeepzoom.shoothill.com/

Viv.
 
Many houses were declared 'slums' and although a lot were demolished in Hockley, Planners soon realised they ere knocking down faster than they were rebuilding, so ceased demolition as they neared Lozell's and introduced the 'Envelope' scheme.
Terraced 'slum' houses were Reroofed, had damp proof courses put in, bathrooms with indoor toilet built above the kitchen extension, re-wired & where necessary re-windowed.
These houses are still there today after another 50 years.
Pity they hadn't the sense to start with that scheme before wholesale demolition - but it was the era of old is bad - new is good.
Incredibly a lot of the blocks of flats built at that time have been demolished themselves now - 50 years is very short term replacement housing, when with a fraction of the cost, 150 year old terraces are still going strong!
Brian
 
Thanks Brian. Maybe a case then of inadequate prior research, no consultation with the people who live in the areas and poor building techniques used in the replacement housing. You wonder whether the new tower blocks were ever fit for purpose or just a quick fix. In the long term I expect it's probably cost more to put right. Viv.
 
Key Hill Brian said:
Many houses were declared 'slums' and although a lot were demolished in Hockley, Planners soon realised they ere knocking down faster than they were rebuilding, so ceased demolition as they neared Lozell's and introduced the 'Envelope' scheme.
Terraced 'slum' houses were Reroofed, had damp proof courses put in, bathrooms with indoor toilet built above the kitchen extension, re-wired & where necessary re-windowed.
These houses are still there today after another 50 years.
Pity they hadn't the sense to start with that scheme before wholesale demolition - but it was the era of old is bad - new is good.
Incredibly a lot of the blocks of flats built at that time have been demolished themselves now - 50 years is very short term replacement housing, when with a fraction of the cost, 150 year old terraces are still going strong!
Brian
Click to expand...

agree with you entirely brian... i can accept that not much that could have done to improve the sizes the back to backs as they were just one down 2 up and a lot of them beyond repair but we had many thousands of good strong terraced houses that could have been improved and would still be here today...

lyn
 
I would agree Lyn that many of the back to backs were in poor condition either because of decay or because they were not built well in the first place. However for ones that were not in bad condition size should not have been a reason for demolition. Compared to some recently-built "affordable" (laughter) homes they are not too small . For families perhaps, but not for single people
 
very good point there mike and as brian has already pointed out many of the high rise flats that were built 50 years back are now being demolished and in some areas such as newtown the houses are going as well..not much of a life span is it...i now call them throw away homes..we can only hope (but i doubt it) that lessons have been learnt and they are now using better materials to build...just one point about high rise flats...they were i believe built mainly for the eldery but as the need for more places to live in this country grew families with children had no choice but to live in them due to lack of ground level houses and i can tell you from a 6 year experience of living in a 2 bed flat on the 7th floor with 4 children it is no joke at all...
 
Last edited:
Seems it was a crazy move to build high rise flats; it obliterated street communities, increased crime and resulted in all sorts of mental health issues. And they're still being built today! When will we learn? Apparently today it costs more to build high rise than traditional houses, don't know if that was the case in the 50s/60s but I expect the driving force for high rise was to find a quick fix to re-house people in more sanitary conditions. Seems they swapped one set of problems for many more problems. Viv.
 
morning viv..high rise flats were also built to save space...a typical 14 storey block such as i lived in could house 90 families and because they went up the space they took up was probably no more that it would have been to build just 4 3 bedroomed houses on the same plot of land...my brother lived on the top floor of a 19 storey block opposite the royal oak pub on lozells road...that along with a few other nearby blocks on the birchfield road have now been demolished..

lyn
 
Last edited:
Yes Lyn, even stranger when you think that space wasn't the issue it is today. I think Brian's point about 'out with the old' is important too. After the war, people and councils were looking for a new start and high rise flats were all part of that image. And of course some of the inter-,war houses like those built in Perry Common (?) have since been demolished too. I think their demolition was mostly due to damp. Maybe the new building materials becoming available weren't up to the job as a long-term solution. This advert for Gt Barr houses promises 'better' buildings. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1416561389.085939.jpg
 
now those are what i call sturdy well built houses viv and still there of course...just popping back to flats..i spoke to many of the elderly folk in my block over the years and the majority of them said that ok we now have running hot water..bathrooms and heating but they would give all that up to back to summer lane etc as you could go weeks without seeing your neighbours and they found living there a lonely existance...
 
Despite the obvious poor conditions of this court (Lily Place) on Gem Street, this 1930s photo shows a touching scene of a mother washing (?) her son outside the house. And there's a cat resting on the windowsill behind them. A scene of regular family life, attending to basic cleanliness, regardless of the conditions they found themselves living in. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
There seems to have been some considerable effort (in the 1920s) to refurbish some slums rather than replace them. The 'shoothill' site has many pics of refurbished or reconditioned slums but there is not much documentary information about the program which was presumably carried out by the city council.
An example of 'before' and 'after' pics is shown in the Staniforth St thread here.
 
I had quite a few mates from what some would refer to as "slums", and they as far as I can remember were washed, and dressed as well as all of us. I can remember in fact going to some of their homes, with a bright fire in the grate and white table cloths and polished lino with a mat or two, they never seemed "deprived" to me anyrate.Paul
 
Last edited:
It seems that Octavia Hill's system of rent collecting was soon replaced in Birmingham.
From Google books.
In Birmingham, the 'Octavia Hill ladies' appointed in 1920 were replaced by male rent collectors in 1921. Overall, only 56 women estate managers were employed by 34 councils in 1935. They managed less than 5% of the total council stock.
Click to expand...
 
Chesh said:
Can anyone point me in the right direction, I am trying to find information on the 'poorer' areas on living in Birmingham during the 19c. Is their any sites that have a great deal of info, or any books published?
Click to expand...
Jewellery Quarter, Vittoria Street, Back to Back houses, Slum houses, Toilets shared in back yard Brewhouses. Have to fetch water also from Yard. Gas lights.
 
I am new to the site. Does anyone or know of anyone with old pictures of
Baker Street, Small Heath B'ham 10.
We used to live @ 1/45 till we moved to Prince Albert St, Bordesley Green.
 
Michael,

Welcome to the Forum. I just done a quick search on Baker Street, Small Heath, and it seems we've had two similar requests some time ago without any responses. I can only conclude from that that we probably don't have any. But someone may see this and possibly point you in the right direction.

Maurice
 
The Inkleys, bottom of Hill St and Navigation St behind New St Station was a very poor area in Victorian times.
 
My great grandparents lived in the inkleys, what was the inkleys and where was it, location known but was it in a place similar to a workhouse. Does anyone have more information about this place G
 
Last edited:
Hi Michael and Grea;
Yes this is very true postion of navigation street and thesurrounding streets of that area and there are more named
streets surrounding it and it published way back in time in 1904
it was the most dangerous street was navigation street after dark in the city of birmingham
the other roads was Rea st, Clyde st Francis st,
Top of the listing was of course Garrision Lane the home of the Mad Axman, Thomas Clarke
And it was a very slummed area of houses
And yes again guys and gals these are all included in steve jones book of Birmingham sinister side
every topic and place i have mention from the said book as the actual photographgs of these house,s
of those very streets i have mentioned including
the full story of the chief constable RAFFERTY whom was an ex police officier in Ireland
Whom was in charch of the Irish trobles of irelands in the 1700,
this is a fantasic book by steve jones and all from the police musium records
High volumed and packed in a bright red cover it also gives you the photograpghs of all crims
in there periods and a full back grounds of the winson green society of the prisonway back in time
and photographs of the floogiing they gave them young lads the cat and birch
and of the full story of the oringinal prison officier in charge and how got dismise inconduct
Also of the original peeky blinder photograpg in the slum houses of clyde street birmingham
I would imagine you can buy it on ebay cheaper than what i payed for it
and of course its all for the police funds of the associated so go out and get it
i have had this book many many years and i still pick it up and read it in bed
First published sept 1998; best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,
 
Thanks Alan I will look out for it. Do you know if the Inkleys was a road a court or an area G
 
Grea
As can be seen on the map below, there were two streets around the south end of Hill Street (to the north of Smallbrook street) called New Inkleys & Old Inkleys. The area around those two streets was the Inkleys

map c 1939 showing new and old Ink.jpg
 
Thank you mike. On census it shows my g g parents as living here and g g fathers occupation as a scavenger. G
 
hi G..in case you dont know defination of a scavenger in my book of old trades and titles is ...rubbish collector..so a olden day binman maybe

lyn
 
Well Lynn
In our day the expression was scavenger was worthless person picking up any think he could get is hands on
In other words a low life no good for any think scourng for any think
I would not have called an old rubbish collector a bin man ,, now , now ,
Speaking of bin men lyn , ocupation wise people thought it was meanles job and no one wanted one to do it
Just like the road sweepers job was they thought it was a low class job ,
but i can tell you by the 1960,s there was people queing up fast on the register to do the there jobs
Apparently Holiday street in those days there depot was in holiday street and we was told by a senior member no vaccacys
we have over 600 applications on our books for the postion you have no chance ,,
Best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,,,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top