In the Studio…. The Back to Backs. I was in a mind experiment mood today. Teasing out memoires of how well I recalled the Back to Back houses that were so common in Birmingham. No reference photo to draw by, it’s all in the mind….
A single door off a street or courtyard into a kitchen – dining – room – pantry – scullery – lounge. Belfast sink with just a cold water tap and a luxurious draining board. Fireplace, range with door off to a winding 180-degree staircase to first floor bedroom. Door off to a winding 180-degree staircase to second floor bedroom.
In the courtyard was a row of loos, 6 or 7. Cisterns (thunder box) with chains and wooden seats on the loo. The posh people had Izal toilet roil, the less posh had newspaper on a nail.
The brewhouse… communal washing boiler, wringer and bike shed.
Birmingham had vast quantities of back to back houses, they were a product of the industrial growth. Other cities developed their own mass social housing solutions, but that’s another story.
David Moore 