Old UK Houses

[Hilda]

Trent Motor Traction Bus Company Ladies Football Team, c. 1945.

Love? I always look for subtle hints.

Two things caught my attention in this photo. One was the houses in the background. They look so familiar, like thousands of other suburban houses in the UK, and I suspect that they're still there, almost eighty years on.

The other was the ladies' hair styles. A few are very 1940s, others could be from any era. I love the hairy tangle of the third lady from the left. I think she probably started with a high-maintenance pompadour but the wind worked its wicked way. 

[ObiDongKenobi]

Two things caught my attention in this photo. One was the houses in the background. They look so familiar, like thousands of other suburban houses in the UK, and I suspect that they're still there, almost eighty years on.

Very much so, I spent ages 5-18 in one such house,  although most will have had loft/attic conversions in the last 20-30 years.

[Hilda]

Two things caught my attention in this photo. One was the houses in the background. They look so familiar, like thousands of other suburban houses in the UK, and I suspect that they're still there, almost eighty years on.

Very much so, I spent ages 5-18 in one such house,  although most will have had loft/attic conversions in the last 20-30 years.

I noticed that when I used Google Maps Street View to revisit the places in which I lived. Those that still remain have changed dramatically with modifications and extensions. One two-bedroom house is now three-bedroom.

[Pornhubby]

My paternal and maternal grandparents each bought a bungalow style cottage house in the late 1930s. They were both two bedrooms one bath. My paternal grandparents added on once, turning a screen porch into a den. My maternal grandparents added on three times, first adding another bedroom and bath, then a den and kitchen extension, then finally adding a fourth bedroom and bath by creating a second story. Today we just bulldoze and start over. Everyone wants “open floor plan” style housing now.

[Hilda]

Talking of durable house-building, I was once shown around a house in Greenwich, London. The location was fine, but the stairs and the floors seemed creaky and not quite right. The real estate agent told me that the house had been built in the late seventeen-hundreds by ship's carpenters. "You won't find craftsmanship like this any more." Maybe, but I said "No, thank you," and looked elsewhere.

[ObiDongKenobi]

Talking of durable house-building, I was once shown around a house in Greenwich, London. The location was fine, but the stairs and the floors seemed creaky and not quite right. The real estate agent told me that the house had been built in the late seventeen-hundreds by ship's carpenters. "You won't find craftsmanship like this any more." Maybe, but I said "No, thank you," and looked elsewhere.

I'm guaranteed to find a loose floorboard immediately after a new carpet has been laid.

When the loft conversion at ODK Towers was installed we were told not to use the new stairs for several days so the glue could set rock hard and they wouldn't squeak.  We obeyed but some treads still squeak and groan. If you need to be quiet on stairs in UK houses you should place your feet at the extreme sides of the tread. 

[Hilda]

The junction of Steep Street and Trenchard Street, Bristol, England. 1866.

I remember street lamps like the one on the corner. When the gas mantle needed replacing, the lamplighter would rest his ladder on the horizontal bar. It must have been doubly dangerous in this location.

[Pornhubby]

The junction of Steep Street and Trenchard Street, Bristol, England. 1866.

I remember street lamps like the one on the corner. When the gas mantle needed replacing, the lamplighter would rest his ladder on the horizontal bar. It must have been doubly dangerous in this location.

From the Internet: “ Years ago, I stumbled upon a black & white photo by John Hill Morgan of some deteriorated buildings in 1866 Bristol, England. One of my hobbies is photography, which was the first attraction to the image. The high-quality image depicted buildings of advanced age and in very poor condition in a depressed area of the city. The photo also provided a fascinating look at life in those squalid conditions. I later learned that the buildings were demolished a few years after the image was taken so the photo records buildings that no longer exist.” — Bill O’Malley

[Hilda]

One of the fun things about buying heaps of used books is the surprises inside. The author's autograph, or a dessicated bug, or a newspaper clipping, or a photograph. I've found all of these and more.

A novel I bought recently had a Surrey (UK) address written on the flyleaf, and the year 1951. After I'd finished reading the book, I returned to the address of what was probably the original owner. I tried punching the address into Google Maps and found this:



The person who penned the address is probably long gone. Yet here I am, holding a book that she may have read in the front room of that very house.

I don't recall ever seeing semi-detached houses of that design. I'm also surprised by the telephone wires strung from poles and the condition of the road. Council taxes must be low.

[ObiDongKenobi]

Plenty of houses like that in south-west London/Surrey.  Overhead telephone wires have disappeared but the roads remain as bad, if not worse.  I didn't realise exactly how bad until I returned to cycling 16 years ago.

[Hilda]

Hilda original c. 1976. Front elevation. Rear elevation and comments to follow.

[Colin Piper]

Hilda original c. 1976. Front elevation. Rear elevation and comments to follow.

Has a Notting Hill/inner west London look about it.

[Hilda]

Hilda original c. 1976. Front elevation. Rear elevation and comments to follow.

Has a Notting Hill/inner west London look about it.

I'm seriously impressed. Absolutely spot on. 

[Hilda]

St Stephens Gardens, London W2
~ Hippie Hilda's Happy Home ~

I have fond memories of living here 1970-71. Years later I learned that these houses were the foundation of Peter Rachman's notorious property empire.

I don't know who owned them in my time (Rachman d. 1962), but I do know that they were in appalling condition and slated for demolition. Yet somehow they were still standing when I took these photos in 1976. The entire area is now a housing estate.

[Hilda]

[Pornhubby]

Made me think of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.



Looked it up online, and discovered it was filmed in Colne, Lancashire.

[ObiDongKenobi]

Britain's favourite TV advert.  I had forgotten it was directed by Ridley Scott

and a remastered version

and a "Two Ronnies" spoof

[Pornhubby]

Anyone seen Hilda? She hasn’t logged in since mid-October.

[ObiDongKenobi]

Not me.  I miss her erudite and informative posts.