Archive photo. "Pre-fabs" in Burdett Road, Bow, East London. 1950s
Stands for homes of "Pre-fabricated construction".
After the utter destruction of London's East End during the second world war, there was a desperate need for cheap replacement housing, not only here but in all the major cities, and pre-fabrication was the answer. --- Sections constructed in factories all over the country in their thousends, and put together on pre-laid concrete bases on the chosen sites..
They were intended to be just temporary, with a life span of maybe ten years, but they were still widely occupied three decades later. Most people loved them. Understandably because most had previously only rented parts of old houses, with no bathroom and possibly even a toilet shered with other families.
The Pre-fabs were like small detached bungalows, with a small surrounding garden. They came equipped with a bathroom, indoor toilet, heating, and an electric cooker. ----- And wonder of wonders --- They all had a REFRIGERATOR
Fish and meat could now last for longer than a day. -- You didn't have to keep your bottle of milk standing in a bucket of cold water to delay it from going sour.. --- And the kids could have an ice cream without having to wait for the guy on a tricycle to announce his arrival.in the street. -- Unbelievable luxury for most.
Amazingly , I'm led to believe that there are still hundreds of thes pre-fabs still in use.
The picture also shows the bomb damaged St Paul's Church, shortly to be pulled down and replaced with an "ultra modern" one that, to my mind, was ( and is ) low, squat and ugly . I love old churches and think that a church should look like a church, not like something that could be mistaken fo a Mc Donalds. But that's just me, I guess.
Go to the next picture to see what was lost.
Archive photo. "Pre-fabs" in Burdett Road, Bow, East London. 1950s
Stands for homes of "Pre-fabricated construction".
After the utter destruction of London's East End during the second world war, there was a desperate need for cheap replacement housing, not only here but in all the major cities, and pre-fabrication was the answer. --- Sections constructed in factories all over the country in their thousends, and put together on pre-laid concrete bases on the chosen sites..
They were intended to be just temporary, with a life span of maybe ten years, but they were still widely occupied three decades later. Most people loved them. Understandably because most had previously only rented parts of old houses, with no bathroom and possibly even a toilet shered with other families.
The Pre-fabs were like small detached bungalows, with a small surrounding garden. They came equipped with a bathroom, indoor toilet, heating, and an electric cooker. ----- And wonder of wonders --- They all had a REFRIGERATOR
Fish and meat could now last for longer than a day. -- You didn't have to keep your bottle of milk standing in a bucket of cold water to delay it from going sour.. --- And the kids could have an ice cream without having to wait for the guy on a tricycle to announce his arrival.in the street. -- Unbelievable luxury for most.
Amazingly , I'm led to believe that there are still hundreds of thes pre-fabs still in use.
The picture also shows the bomb damaged St Paul's Church, shortly to be pulled down and replaced with an "ultra modern" one that, to my mind, was ( and is ) low, squat and ugly . I love old churches and think that a church should look like a church, not like something that could be mistaken fo a Mc Donalds. But that's just me, I guess.
Go to the next picture to see what was lost.