I can smell those flannel sheets in the 60's house as I watch this. Fresh and crisp straight from the airing cupboard and lovely and warm on a cold winters night.
Going back in time with you is always a pleasure. Let me take you by the hand and into the house of my grandaunt build around 1910. You will walk into a miners house, build from bricks with the look of a miniature farmhouse, the stove under the stairs in the kitchen, the stovepipe warmed the bedroom on the other side of the wall and upstair bedroom. The toilet was already indoor and in the bathroom was the door to the garden. I remember sitting there in the livingroom as a 3year old in 1969 in a green wollen armchair learning to crochet.... under a foto of my granduncle in uniform........the german Wehrmacht. Yes, you are in Germany in the Ruhr-area ... I wish I could walk into that house again. Thank you for remembering me my past. ❤
You are so welcome! I would LOVE the experience to visit some historical homes in other countries too - I love Germany, and learnt the language for 10 years, sadly it's pretty rusty now! Thanks for sharing that memory, it's really beautiful and it's lovely when we remember things we haven't thought about for many years x
Thanks for sharing Lucy. I loved seeing the reconstructed high street and the iron paneled duplex house. Thanks for spreading your appreciation for this period in Britain's past.
Glad you enjoyed it and you are very welcome, I absolutely love it! I always think I was born in the wrong time as the 60s, 70s & early 80s are my true love in terms of design, pop culture and housing x
This reminded me so much of my Nana and Grandad’s house in the 1970’s. The kitchen especially, I remember my Nana making plate pies and mash with veg that had been boiled to buggery 😂. I loved it there, my Grandad grew the most lovely vegetables and also stunning roses. Wonderful times 😍
I actually found some of those candy stripe pillow cases in a charity shop recently. I bought them and enjoy that same wave of nostalgia of childhood and sleeping at my grandparents house ❤ xx
I forgot to say I can still smell my gran making bread pudding and getting told to keep my fingers off till it was cold yummy it never lasted long with 5 grandkids visiting ,it was the days you could knock on the door and walk in and shout it's only me nan you are bring back so many happy and sad memories of my childhood thankyou Lucy . Roy
Very welcome! My Maternal Nan used to make bread pudding in a big brown washing up bowl, it was absolutely sensational, great big slabs - I have tried to recreate it without success. I wonder if it was that bowl!
@@throughlucyslens I posted videos how to make my grandmas bread pudding. I use white sugar, evap milk, cinnamon, some milk, cheap bread-wonder or no name, cook for 45- hr, let it cool down in the oven... I think it was 400 to 425 maybe. she would use raisins but I never did. eat hot or cold. with whipped topping. nothing compares to the texture and flavour. not commonly known in Canada tho I saw reference to it in one of the vacation movies... the bread pudding was wet bread.
Even from oz there’s so so much that’s the same. My grandma was born in 1915, furniture and knick knacks and everything from both the 40s house and the 60s house were in her home. I could smell grandma’s house walking through those with you and now I’m crying like a baby. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your work ❤ btw, I have one of those flannel sheets still, it’s a pride and joy
This means so much to me, isn't it lovely how things can just spark wonderful memories you probably haven't thought about for years and years, for me it was that radio! .. and I don't blame you for keeping the flannel sheet, they are amazing (and your comment made me teary eyed too!) x
They are lovely aren't they, I am going to look out for them in Charity shops. I really want to own one again after stroking that one in the museum - my Nan had a whole ottoman full of them, sadly binned when she passed I suspect :(
@@throughlucyslens I asked my mum what happened to the ones we used to have as kids. Chucked out decades ago of course. But! you can get them in B&Q of all places! 🤣 I went on a hunt after watching your vid ☺️
In the 1960s my parents house in Chicago Illinois had metal cabinets and the original 1954 refrigerator. People didn't upgrade for a new look we kept what worked. Vintage things still make me very happy. Thanks for the wonderful tour.
15:30 - I have nothing in common with UK but seeing these vinyl wrapped shelves in there made me feel nostalgic. We had something similar in our summer house where, in early 1990's, my grandma decorated kitchen cabinets' shelves using old vinyl tablecloth. Both the cloth and cabinets, dating back to 1970's and coming from communist Poland, had much simpler design but just the idea of doing this brought back my memories of childhood.
Hey! Honestly I LOVE the homes & style of communist era Poland! Many many years ago I visited a museum in what was "East Germany" and I was shocked to see so many similarities to my own upbringing in the UK. People make do with what they have and this is reflected in things like the vinyl shelves. Thank you for sharing!
Both the 1940's house, and the 1960's house, brought me a lot of nostalgia, going to my grandmother's Colorado four-square house, built in 1910, and growing up in the 1960's in Nashville, myself. Definite regional differences, sure, but it's amazing how much alike some of the things were. I, too, had the rainbow striped flannel sheets. And a very similar all-band radio, AM, FM, & short wave. My mom definitely had a similar set of electric curlers, and I've still got many of those old kitchen implements. So, even across the Atlantic, those rooms spoke volumes. Thanks for sharing this nostalgic experience.
Very very welcome! And I love that you grew up in Nashville - it's a place I've always wanted to go, and Colorado! It's my dream to spend a good chunk of time really exploring off the beaten track places. Thanks so much for your comment and I'm happy it sparked some happy memories for you xx
So true! I grew up in a small town in New Jersey USA and there are so many similarities! And the differences are so interesting! You are doing a wonderful thing here Lucy!!
When you first walked into the kitchen of the 30s house, it could have been my grandmas. Hers was in Melbourne, Australia and didn’t have the copper in the corner but otherwise similar. It was a Californian bungalow built around the 30s. When I stayed over I slept in the box room on the tiniest but tallest bed I’ve ever seen. It was a huge change from our spacious 1960s Victorian countryside home.
How lovely! I LOVE all the different housing styles in Australia because there are so many different types brought in from all over the world - one day I will visit!
😭 I feel like I can see my little old nan in that kitchen making dinner, and I had that striped bedding at her house for when I stayed over too. What amazing memories this evoked, thank you Lucy 💜
I live in Perth, Western Australia, but I remember those candy-stripe sheets. It seemed like everyone had them. The red jug in the kitchen caught my eye. I have one the same but in green, which I've had for over 50 years and I still use it. Thanks for the tour.
You are very welcome, I had a similar jug of my Paternal grandmother but one of my cats jumped up on the dresser and knocked it off smashing it - i've never forgiven him for that!
Over in Sydney Australia in the early 70’s, I also had that same striped flanelette sheet and pillowcase set! We never had anything as fancy as a tomato slicer though 😊
I know .. imagine .. a tomato slicer! My Nan had one knife and used it for EVERYTHING from slicing bread to cutting up meat - when she passed it was like a thin sliver of metal having being sharpened so much over the years and I still have it. All I wanted was that knife and an old ice cream scoop she used to serve us up pudding with!
I was born in 1950 and the houses and contents are so familiar to me. The food, the books, those bed sheets were all in my home. Our toilet paper was Izal and was harsh. We had a couple of parrafin heaters to heat the bedrooms, you never forget the smell of them. They were never on long enough to really heat the rooms up, looking back money was very tight. That was the days when the window frames were metal and the glass used to be iced up inside. Thank you for sharing this, it has evoked so many memories.
My primary school, in the late 70s, used to have Izal in the toilets. Although the teachers toilet cubicle had proper soft paper, so we would frequently nip into the teachers' cubicle and pinch their paper. Even as a child I could never understand the point of paper that wasn't absorbant.
You are so welcome and I am really glad you enjoyed it, means a lot to me - and I remember frozen windows inside .. I have an old banger of a car and during the winter I get in and think, my god I've gone back to 1983!
The one at our school had "property of Birmingham City Council" printed on each sheet - who one earth would have stolen that! I remember they gave me some for a nose bleed once - absolutely pointless!
i'm now 67 years old and back in the early sixties our toilet paper was always an old Western paperback novel that my dad had finished with cut in half and stuck on an old four inch nail on the wall , i was one of eight kids and my dad was earning £5 a week so we couldn't afford luxuries like Izal slippy toilet paper
Indeed I remember Izal toilet paper so well. "Hard and repellent" could have been the company's advertising slogan. If it was still made with that slogan printed on every sheet it would be free of VAT! It would be advertising material not 'stationary', so be exempt from value added tax. 😃
Wonderful that this social history of working class people is being preserved by the Black Country Museum. Thank you for taking us round. I havent been thete for years and now live in the South West - so it would be a long trek to see it!
That house reminded me so much of my Grandparents 1930s Semi in SE London. They did have an upstairs bathroom, but no other mod cons. Up until my Grandad died in 1966, he never had a washing machine or fridge. Washing was done in a Gas 'Copper' in the corner of the kitchen, and a green mangle in the lean to. Milk was kept in a galvanized bucket of water. This brought back loads of childhood memories - thank you. Take care 🙂
You are very welcome! I also remember milk being kept in a bucket of cold water when the electric ran out of the meter! This is why I love these places, they spark the most forgotten memories x
Do you know, I’ve not been here since we were at school! The ‘60’s high street looks amazing. The second iron house really reminded me of my paternal grandparents house, and hearing the whisper of The Who in the background almost made me feel like Dad was there ❤
Right? That bedroom with the car posters on the wall I found it hard to speak, it was like being back in that house on Bondfield Road - only thing missing was a poster of a cowboy 😂
Thankyou Lucy for sharing this gentle and very peaceful mooch through time!! I’m an 80’s kid from Australia and this took me back to my Dad’s family farmhouse. Two of his brothers took over the family sheep farm in the 1950s, adding a 2nd weatherboard house across the paddock. The old sprawling 1900’s weatherboard had a huge AGA woodstove in the kitchen. Checkered lino floor, a white formica table and pale yellow kitchen cupboards with chrome Z shaped handles. My Nana and Aunties had cooked for so many kids, shearers and farm workers over the years that the kitchen smelled of good tucker, woodsmoke, with a hint peppercorn and apple trees, and sheep. The rest of the house had wooden floors and grey & red floral carpet. The boys’ sleepout was all ACDC and Metallica, Holden Monaro and Kenworth truck posters. The bathroom was all green tiles, a wooden handle flush on the side of the loo with a fluffy green lid 😂 I absolutely loved exploring the sheds, particularly the old Dodge flatbed truck with hand waving indicators 😂, a washboard and ringer, a rocket washing machine with a crank handle. All the eras piled together, well loved and well used. Edit: i’m quite certain we also slept on the striped flannel sheets too! Best sleeps ever 🛌
I'm an 80s kid too and it always amazes me how many similarities between the UK & Aus. My Mom lived there for several years, she LOVED it, she said it was like living in the UK but how she liked to remember it. I loved reading your comment and it's making me fancy a bit of tucker myself now - probably a bit late here now though 😅
The Clark County Museum in Las Vegas has a collection of old homes decorated to the correct period. I love the prefab home made for workers building Hoover Dam in the 1930s. Boulder City near Las Vegas still has quite a few of the workers' homes, and they are still occupied. It's very cool to drive around and see the old neighborhoods.
DANG! I went to Vegas a few years ago and knew NOTHING about this, we didn't stay on The Strip, we stayed in the old part of Las Vegas and I absolutely loved it, instead of casinos I spent all day walking around museums and antiques shops - my god I would like to have brought so much home! Now I need to go again don't I?
My grandparents lived in a house built from iron panels in Symington in Scotland. They were demolished in the 80s. I remember me my sisters getting told off for bouncing a tennis ball against the outside wall of the house because it was so loud inside 😂
Loved the 1960 house, I was a child in the 60s and I grew up in a house like this, everything about it was familiar, I had one of those record players and the striped sheets were exactly the same. Fabulous stroll down memory lane Lucy, thank you 🙏
You are so welcome! My Mom still had a vacuum like that in the early 80s, an actual "hoover" I can almost smell it - had a very distinct smell about it 😂
I visited again a couple of weeks ago to see the new 1960s street (last year we went to see the 1940/50s street) - it’s excellent and well worth a visit - you also get a free visit within 12 months from your ticket.
Just to let you know I've been enjoying your videos so much Lucy. You're making such a wonderful channel here! I'm a history fan from Dublin and I still recognise a lot of the decor and home styles from the mid century houses, particularly from visiting older family members. The excitement and nostalgia is real! Can't wait for more! 😊
Thanks SO much Laura, I really appreciate that, I am doing something I just genuinely enjoy, right now I can't believe my luck people are actually seeing them :)
You just don't see those stripey flannelette sheets any more do you, someone should make them again! I was born in 1962, and so much of this was so familiar to see, and it was lovely to see again, the museum has done a fantastic job of putting it all together ❤ 👏 Glad that you enjoyed your fair ground ride 👍 and thank you Lucy 😊
OMG Lucy, you can still buy them 😯 I decided to Google candy stripe flanelette and there was quite a few to choose from, might be time to buy some new bedding! 😊👏
Loved the video. Please keep them coming. I have to admit the 60's house gave me goosebumps. I remember we had some of that stuff in our family home in the 60's.
I don't blame you - seems like a fair swap to me ;) ... I don't even know where my wedding dress is, that's terrible isn't it! But It was a vintage piece of Ebay, only cost me a couple of quid - wouldn't have got me a kitchen cabinet for sure!
Lucy, my boyhood town had thick Aluminium paneled prefabs and 'tarren' house estates. The tarren houses were brick/cement lower floor and the aluminium sheeted upper floor. The roof trusses were steel etc. Both styles had separate toilet rooms to the bathrooms, fitted kitchens from shaped aluminium/tin(?) the draining board with set in sink and a refrigerator, now that was luxury for temporary post war housing 😎 I think they were ment for short term life but the bungalow prefabs lasted to the 1980, the tarren houses still in use now. Of course the tarren houses are of non standard construction so they are not mortgage, but for space etc they are well sought after for cash purchases. There is a small enclave of prefabs bungalows in Altrincham that had the outside walls removed and brick walls put in place. When one comes on the open market it's sold very quickly. In the USA there were post war bungalows constructed in kit form from a company called Lustron, so they are known as Lustron houses. They are prefabricated enameled paneled bungalows, being internal and external panels. Being enamel there was a choice of 4 colours which never faded or needed decorating, just a wash down when required, easy peasey! Lots of info on tinternet about them. Again very desirable these days and prized for museums etc. Cheers DougT
Thanks Doug, that's brilliant! My Mom worked in a building society and she said she used to dread someone coming in wanting to buy a house of non-standard construction so she had to let them down gently - because, yes, these houses are so desirable. Love the idea of a wash down house .. yes please!
@@throughlucyslens thanks Lucy. It's worth googling Lustron homes, they were built specifically for returning forces. The interiors are very mid century furnished too. They perfectly suited US culture of open planned suburban sprawl. The prefabs of my birth town were very robust sheet aluminium(better than caravan quality) not compressed asbestos/cement like most were of the time. In fact modern versions would help the housing crisis of today? However Mrs T with her Right to Buy screwed up social housing in this country, my own POV of course. Look at how in demand those Canadian wood bungalows you recently featured are now prime real estate. Cheers DougT
I live in Poland, have zero interest in content like this and no idea why UA-cam recommended it to me. BUT it's so cool to see someone so passionate about their hobbies, showing us around, engaging, interesting. Loved it. You're a natural storyteller. Have subscribed :D
Hello James - that's so cute! I love it - sometimes You Tube does the same to me too and I think "huh" and before I know it I am watching content about something I never thought about before. Hello to Poland - a beautiful country I would love to explore x
@@throughlucyslens Thank you!! I ended up watching quite a few of your videos and I must say the house tours/social history videos are actually really interesting, despite the fact I never expected myself to enjoy this content :) It's fascinating and much more interesting than videos on horrible hotel rooms 😂 Hope this will become your "niche"
I remember my dad smelling of Old Spice when I was growing up. As I got older I remember him telling me that my bedroom smelt like a tart's palace, due to my perfumes. Isn't it surprising how something small can trigger memories?
I've really enjoyed your video. I visited the Black Country Museum in 2012 I enjoyed it very much. My hubby went in the Coal Mine. Which he thought was a great experience. I lived in a brick built council house from 1953 to when I got married in 1970. Before that we lived in a metal Nissan hut which dad fitted out for us. 1950 to 1953. My memory of that was a weekly bath before a roaring fire, and toasting crumpets for tea. I was approaching my 5th birthday. I remember our council house was always neat and tidy, my mum didn't like things left lying around. We had a toy cupboard in the living room. Two bedrooms and bathroom with separate toilet upstairs. A boiler in the kitchen that heated water and the airing cupboard on the landing. A coal fire in the tiled fireplace, in the living room. That was change to a gas fire eventually. It was a luxury for mum after the Nissan hut.
Gosh! A Nissan Hut!! I have never heard of people living longer term in those, that is absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing - your Mom sounds like mine .. everything has a place .. and out of the way! We weren't allowed toys downstairs, I used to think it was madness when I was a kid, but now I am an adult I understand completely!
The pastle striped sheets on the bed, was my childhood bed, I remember my gran having the long drag along vacuum, and the metal sweeper, remember pushing that up down and living room, lovely to watch thank you
Peas in a pod. I get so attached to the places. I remember the hoover too - and the slightly odd dusty smell that never really went as the bag didn't empty properly 😂
Hello Lucy that 1920,s was very similar to my grandparents only theirs was built of bricks in my village quenington we have 30 of them i think they are all sold off now and been modernised with exstainshons . My grandparents house had 3 bedrooms 2 large and a box room and a airing cupboard upstairs and bathroom, kitchen and sitting room downstairs the only heating was open coal fire in the sitting room and a coke fire in the kitchen witch heated the water, she also had a walkin larder it's a pity they don't build houses like it anymore ,my dad was still building houses in the same design in 1963 in the next town to our village when I was born they new how to build back then ,have a good weekend, roy,quenington gloucestershire .
Hi Roy, thanks for your sharing your memories, I don't know why they stopped building like this either, the size is just ideal for most families - and they were built to last :)
Hi Lucy great video. I moved into a new council house in 1967 it was made from some type of concrete panels and pebble dashed over they were bleak. It had huge windows and a full length window and glass door in the lounge. This was new to us all this glass, it was single glazed so was always running with condensation in the winter and we had rolled up towels on the sills and floor. It had hot air heating which all came out one vent and the rest of the house was cold. I remember sitting at my mum's sewing machine running up curtains which was a huge expense I can't see many 14 year olds doing that today. It had a Formica kitchen which was great and I remember coming home from school and mum standing there grinning pointing her new fridge we, had never had one before and of course those flannel sheets. The houses are still standing and the owners have tried to make them look less like a prison camp but it has not really worked.
PEBBLEDASH! My goodness - what was it with that stuff? We had it on the house I lived in as a kid too - and it's still there today. I think it's always interesting to hear from people who experienced living in places rather than looking through rose tinted glasses. Thanks for sharing x
Ive not been to this museum for 15 years, another trip is in order. Much of this reminds me of small Devon towns which were like this to an extent in the 90s, ive heard of iron houses but never seen one. There are a lot of cob houses near me and a few straw ones. Seeing thease is fascinating. A small town near me has a pub now a museum stuck in time from the 40s / 50s . My mums cleaning lady who lived until her 80s had no indoor heating apart from a real fire, no hot water and an outside toilet until she died in around 2009, the local mill owned her house but she refused modern conveniences even looking after her elderly mother and husband and working almost until she died Its great to see our history being preserved lovely video.
I'm still feeling very spoilt as I was born in 1963 and as far as I can remember, our homes were very modern compared to the 60's house in this video. I do remember my Mum had that Ewbank to push across the carpets instead of getting the vacuum out though and those stripy flanalette sheets. We always had central heating and a gas fire too. My Grandma had those stone hot water bottles though. We must have been quite well off. I absolutely love these videos! Well done, they're brilliant Lucy!
When your own lived memories are featured in a museum, I guess at that point you have to accept you're old!! Like you that 60's house brought a bit of a tear to my eye. Excellent videos, thank you.
2:45 I tried to buy that bar of Cadbury fruit and nut for my mum with 1penny, I was so young I didn't understand money yet but I had a coin with 1 on it, it must have been 1 penny and the chocolate was 1 shilling, this must have been about 1962, Whenever I see the chocolate advert today of the girl doing the same thing in the shop trying to pay with buttons I'm back in that shop standing on my tip toes trying to see over the counter and talk to Mrs Miller the owner, she gave me a small bar of Cadburys that did cost 1 penny which mother got for her birthday so it was July 4th 1962 at about 10am, mad isn't it how things transport you back through time, smells do it a lot for me, fresh cut grass reminds me of lying in bed aged about 4 or 5 with the windows wide open listening to my dad cut the grass in the late evening when the sun is going down, nostalgia, great, isn't it.
It's lovely. Your comment actually gave me goosebumps. If I smell night scented stock it reminds me lazy days playing in the garden with my sister as the sun went down trying to squeeze out an extra 5 minutes before bed time. I'll think of you every time I see that Cadbury advert now x
Another fantastic video lucy..especially the 1960s tour of the iron house..i was born in 1962 and oh the memories of my parents house was almost a copy of this house...the pink candlewick bedspread and striped sheets..in winter mum would put old coats on our beds to keep us warm!!..the kitchen cabinets too are an exact copy of what we had..along with the carpet sweeper..and stand food mixer..we had open fires too..no cental heating..and a stone floor..just brill.thank you.x
This is so lovely: thank you. That house is very very evocative isn't it? Even though it was the 80s my grandad hadn't done any work on the house since the 60s at least, the carpet and the sofa and the kitchen were almost a carbon copy. If they had a little tinsel Christmas tree and boxing on the telly I would have been back!
I've always wanted to go! My Mom & I are planning a visit up there in my camper van over the summer so watch this space - I fell in love with going in about 1986 when it was on Blue Peter and still haven't been 🤭
Even though I was born in early 90s we still had a vintage candy stripe bedding set at home ❤️. These houses are so lovely. I really enjoy going to places like this. When I was in Kent, I loved Kent Life museum - mostly re located farmhouses but also there were some cottages and shops there- just so fascinating. These ones are very homely. Such a shame they didn't quite meet the criteria. Thanks for showing! ☺️.
You are very welcome, I was born in the 80s and we had the candy stripes too - just goes to show how well made and well loved they are, I think I might look for some in charity shops!
As a man in my mid sixties watching this brings back memories of my childhood. Having many Aunts and uncles whom we visited often both interiors reflect the houses I would visit all contained a mix of furnishings from different periods Both my grandmothrs had wrap round aprons for everyday work and "Dutch aprons "for Sunday and entertaining.pity you didn't show us the gardens , as these also were a good sign off social differences and pride of owners and tennants alike the Museum has done a great job and I hope the school children to whom you referred learnt something upon. their visit.
The gardens aren't ready yet unfortunately, it looks like they are going to be allotments but at the moment it's just piles of soil .. I shall go back :) Glad it sparked happy memories for you.
Another fascinating history lesson. Of the two, I prefer the 1940s side because that's the era I have in my home. Being an early 70s baby, I remember houses with 60s decor, as people didn't update anywhere near as frequently as they do today. Both my grandmas houses had those tiled fireplaces. They each lived in very different houses, one in a 1900s terrace in Kent and the other in a 1950s bungalow in Hertfordshire, but the tiled fireplace was always present.
People just didn't decorate did they? My parents were the first generation who were the "DIY generation" I think - as a child our house was changed every year! It made your head spin. Thanks for your lovely comment, it's a shame so many of those fireplaces were smashed up and thrown on tips - bet they are worth a fortune to interior designers now!
The 60’s house really reminds me of my maternal grandparents maisonette. The kitchen was the same turquoise and white, the lounge had a similar china cabinet, and Nanny had a tin like the Quality Street one. Nanny died when I was 6, Grandad when I was 11, I am now 47. The only difference was they the bathroom was upstairs, the toilet in a separate room to the basin and bath. I have just said to my husband that we need to visit the museum. I haven’t been since I was 12. My paternal grandparents took me. I only have my paternal grandfather left now, he is 97 and still in fine form, quietly planning his 100th birthday celebration.
We are a similar age, my paternal grandparents passed when I was 3 and 10 .. but I remember their house SO clearly, like really really clearly. I was lucky to have my Moms parents until fairly recently and their home was a little bit more modern but still had plenty of quirky features - including that wonderful radio :) Keep on planning that big 100th - he'll get there :)
Yet another goodun, Lucy!! I'm afraid the "beautiful" grand, stately homes leave me cold - give me the homely dwellings any day, so I love your Social History investigations! Although, that said, some aspects of poorer living I'm happy to leave in the past - one of my early 50s memories is that horrible thin "Bulldog" toilet paper which was shiny on one side : AARRGH!!! 🤣 RjB
Peaky blinders set, instantly recognised.😂 never thought I'd feel as though I'm part of history now Lucy, candlewick bedspreads, heated rollers, it's all fantastic. It's really making me want to go this museum.
It's really great and you could spend a couple of days here and not see everything, you get a free return for 1 year with your entrance so you can go over and over again.
yes,it looks so familiar. even though my memories are from usa. could decorate a home from the 40's on with everything my mom hung onto. took me 2 years to bring space to charming liveable.
@@throughlucyslens my husband and I came to visit here in Ayrshire and fell in love with the unspoiled countryside it’s stunning. House prices are very affordable compared to England. We couldn’t afford to live there anymore. Originally I am from Meriden between Coventry and Sheldon. The people are so friendly and laid back.
I need to go there - never been. I collect 60s crockery, too! (Meakin Studio) I'd never heard of steel houses, so thank you for the info. I was a child in the 1960s - we had a black iron range in the kitchen of our 1930s semi, coal fires in the downstairs rooms, no heating upstairs, and a potentially lethal gas heater with no flue in the hall 😫😫. Stair rods on the stairs, lino flooring, bath taps like the ones you show - and my dad refused to use anything but Izal toilet paper 😫😫😫. No washing machine as my dad didn't see the point of them so mum had to traipse to the launderette on the bus!!!!
I reakon there's a few generations with elephant skin on their behinds .. we had it at school and it had "property of Birmingham city council"'on it - like anyone would ever steal it 😂 you I actually want to make a video about laundrettes - they were such an important social hub,'and a ruddy burden to so many women!
Definitely brought back childhood memories from the 1960s. The candystripe sheets, the chocolate bars my favorite being the fresh 5 centres. Just loved this video
Thanks Lynn! Those 5 centres were lovely weren't they? Like 5 mini chocolate bars in one - and I am sure the bars were much bigger! they had an example of a Cadbury Flake and it's 3 times the size!
It's really great! Try to go outside school holidays if you can (unless you have kids in tow) because it's much much quieter and you get time to soak it up x
Thank you so much for making this video in the wonderful Black Country Museum. I was born in the sixties in Dudley so it really meant something to me. I remember so many of the objects featured in the video. The Ewbank and the stripey flannelette sheets really struck a chord! My very first memory was of watching Mum doing the ironing in the kitchen with "Lilly The Pink" on the radio! Mum used her 1960's washing machine with electric mangle on he top until she had her kitchen refitted in the 1980's I love your channel. Always informative and fun to watch!
Thank you Catherine. It was the pillowcases and the radio that did it for me. My Nan always had the radio on - it always seemed to be Les Ross and I'd sit at the booth my grandad made out of old bits of wood and be spoilt rotten with loads of cakes & pop 🤭
Thank you Lucy for an excellent video! I went last year to the Black Country museum but sadly the iron houses weren’t then open so it’s great I can see them here. Although the 1940’s are my great passion, it was lovely to see the 1960’s house too. Lots of memories of my 1980’s childhood where, being only 20 years later, lots of the sixties era was still in our homes ( like you I collect the midwinter china as reminder of my godparents home )Great work
Thanks Ben, 80s childhood here too and I completely agree with what you said.My Grandparents homes hadn't moved on much at all apart from a better telly rented from Radio Rentals in the corner 🤣
OMG, that wall paper is almost exactly the same as my British husband and I had on the entrance hall wall in 1970, in SOUTH AFRICA! We got most of our fancy stuff from the UK then, and we certainly though that was fancy. Remembering too, that South Africa ran about a year behind the UK in trends.
I meant to add that Australia also had many prefab iron houses, as the Goldrushes necessitated emergency housing and Sth Melbourne (Victoria) had around 100 of the dwellings by the 1850s, of which only 3 remain today as National Trust museums. However, in our climate, they would surely have been like living in an oven!!!! 😓 RjB
You know it must have been like a PIZZA OVEN, I wonder if they invented innovative ways to keep cool or just got used to it? I am absolutely terrible in the heat so if (when) I visit Australia i'll be sure to come during your winter!
My first home with my parents was a Anderson home it was a prefab it had three bedrooms an up stairs bath room a kitchen an a very large front room that was an L shape I still remember the coal fire in the font room a a beast on boiler in the kitchen it used to clow a dull cherry red on bath night as this was how we got hot Warter.There are still some of these home about in Stafford on a street called the drive in doxey .We eventually moved in to a brick home and they were demolished We're ther we're eight Anderson home .The council built 28 new home on the land so you can imagine how big they were .We lived it the prefab for 12 year mum dad and three kids ho happy days 😇😇😇
Hi Lucy, love what you do ,as you these old houses even in Australia remind me of my beautiful grandparents and the love that was in their humble home always. Thanks so much .❤
Aren't they gorgeous? Me too - I went around with tears in my eyes because I kept getting things popping into my head I hadn't thought about for many many years. There was even a handbag on the sofa just like my Nan left it - if there had been a knitting bag by the side of the armchair too I would have lost it!
I had one of those mixers too - but sadly I burnt out the motor making meringue - my bad, it was too old really but I really wanted to experience using one!
The 1960's house is so much like the house we are doing up which was built in the 1940s. The house still had it's pink fireplace and we still have the original swirly 60's carpet (but has some gorgeous oak parquet flooring underneath) and the 60's kitchen with the liners in the pantry.
Oh that's lovely, I really love those pantry liners. They are like a glimpse into the past that survive because they are hidden. Your house sounds beautiful :)
9:57 You see this doorway, I don’t know if the viewers are aware that this door wasn’t necessarily put in by the museum for convenience but I first discovered this unusual feature when I got married in 1987 and me and my wife moved into our first RAF Married Quarter at 19 Oxford Square, RAF Locking in Weston Super Mare. RAF Married quarters the name given to the houses often located on station “inside the wire” were usually built on standard council house format being all government owned. Our house had stairs that went up half along the front side of the house and turned right onto a little landing before turning right again and going up about another 5 stairs to the top floor. But on the little landing was a locked door which would have if it had opened, taken you through to the house next door to the same place but mirrored because the houses were all semi detached. The door itself looked like a door but didn’t have any handle or lock but was instead screwed or nailed into position. The idea was that post war, some families would have more children (Boomer generation) and so the councils (or the RAF / Army / RN) could allocate 2 houses for bigger families, they would then send around workmen to remove the panel between the 2 houses and also remove one set of cookers from one of the kitchens and you would have a 6 bedroom house with 2 “living rooms”, one kitchen and maybe 2 dining rooms plus a spare kitchen and of course 2 bathroom and 2 separate toilets 🚽 hahah What was funny though was that the panel door separating both houses was made of 2 sheets of hardboard or plywood with the usual twin top and bottom framing to strengthen the door… because they were thin you could hear often “conversations” or “goins on” or even the odd bit of “ows yer father” occurring 😂😂😂 and if you were friendly with next door or not, you could shout through the door “encouraging statements” or maybe “turn it in mate … some of us are trying to sleep “ 😂😂😂
Absolutely loved this. Glad there’s children seeing this Life was so much simpler back then.
I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you, I hope these videos get some little people into history and appreciating the past, I would love that x
I'm glad I'm not the only person who finds visiting museums with 19xx domestic interiors ... emotional! All sort of feelings get stirred up.
Right? It's like loads of things you hadn't thought about for years pop back in your head. I love it!
I can smell those flannel sheets in the 60's house as I watch this. Fresh and crisp straight from the airing cupboard and lovely and warm on a cold winters night.
Mmmm and so so soft on your face. I used to love them.
Brentford Nylon sheets were big in the 60s….they can be soft on your face too…
You can still get them, I have got a duvet cover set of candy stripe flannelette. So cosy.
Airing cupboard. ! I used to dream of a working airing cupboard in the Sixty’s.
Yes, dry warm clothes are definately at a premium - you know I've never had an airing cupboard!
Going back in time with you is always a pleasure. Let me take you by the hand and into the house of my grandaunt build around 1910. You will walk into a miners house, build from bricks with the look of a miniature farmhouse, the stove under the stairs in the kitchen, the stovepipe warmed the bedroom on the other side of the wall and upstair bedroom. The toilet was already indoor and in the bathroom was the door to the garden. I remember sitting there in the livingroom as a 3year old in 1969 in a green wollen armchair learning to crochet.... under a foto of my granduncle in uniform........the german Wehrmacht. Yes, you are in Germany in the Ruhr-area ... I wish I could walk into that house again. Thank you for remembering me my past. ❤
You are so welcome! I would LOVE the experience to visit some historical homes in other countries too - I love Germany, and learnt the language for 10 years, sadly it's pretty rusty now! Thanks for sharing that memory, it's really beautiful and it's lovely when we remember things we haven't thought about for many years x
This is so nostalgic. Brings back memories.
Thank you, very welcome :)
I still have and use my mothers sheets on my bed! Candystripe cotton for summer…..flannelette pink for winter! Still going strong after 60 years!
So worth the investment and so comforting. I love to hear it x
Back when toilet paper was actual paper !
Love a bit of Formica.
Great tour, lots of nostalgia 🙂
Very welcome ... and gosh I have such a bad memory from that toilet paper - scarred for life .. maybe literally ;)
My Nanny always took an afternoon nap on the sofa, and always under a soft flannel blanket!
How lovely, and I don't blame her! They are so comfy and cosy.
I love these everyday life museums. Good work!
Thank you, I appreciate it :)
Those brushed cotton sheets... yep had those, so comfy in winter.
The best right?
Thanks for sharing Lucy. I loved seeing the reconstructed high street and the iron paneled duplex house. Thanks for spreading your appreciation for this period in Britain's past.
Glad you enjoyed it and you are very welcome,
I absolutely love it! I always think I was born in the wrong time as the 60s, 70s & early 80s are my true love in terms of design, pop culture and housing x
This reminded me so much of my Nana and Grandad’s house in the 1970’s. The kitchen especially, I remember my Nana making plate pies and mash with veg that had been boiled to buggery 😂. I loved it there, my Grandad grew the most lovely vegetables and also stunning roses. Wonderful times 😍
'... boiled to buggery ...'. 😂😂😂 Those were the days.
Hahahaha ... beige green beans .. how did they even achieve that?
PLATED PIE !!! My aunty Gill made the BEST plated apple pie on an old pyrex glass plate, I can taste it!
Nana Mouskouri..?
@@griswald7156,Nana is a popular word for grandma in many U.K. families.
The Black Country Living Museum is epic!
Totally agree, the best 😻
I actually found some of those candy stripe pillow cases in a charity shop recently. I bought them and enjoy that same wave of nostalgia of childhood and sleeping at my grandparents house ❤ xx
Yesss! You know I think I am going to look for some. They were so comfortable and cosy. Probably really expensive to buy but lasted forever x
I still have some of these stripped flannelette sheets
Yes, they were part of my childhood too, Down Under (but only in Winter of course :) RjB
You were lucky,i never slept at my grandparents house…
I forgot to say I can still smell my gran making bread pudding and getting told to keep my fingers off till it was cold yummy it never lasted long with 5 grandkids visiting ,it was the days you could knock on the door and walk in and shout it's only me nan you are bring back so many happy and sad memories of my childhood thankyou Lucy . Roy
Very welcome! My Maternal Nan used to make bread pudding in a big brown washing up bowl, it was absolutely sensational, great big slabs - I have tried to recreate it without success. I wonder if it was that bowl!
@@throughlucyslens I posted videos how to make my grandmas bread pudding. I use white sugar, evap milk, cinnamon, some milk, cheap bread-wonder or no name, cook for 45- hr, let it cool down in the oven... I think it was 400 to 425 maybe. she would use raisins but I never did. eat hot or cold. with whipped topping. nothing compares to the texture and flavour.
not commonly known in Canada tho I saw reference to it in one of the vacation movies... the bread pudding was wet bread.
@@minimaladjacent that sounds lovely! It's more like a sort of really dense cake here, crazy to think something so simple can taste so delicious!
Bread pudding is not so difficult to make. Mama used to make very rich bread pudding
Even from oz there’s so so much that’s the same. My grandma was born in 1915, furniture and knick knacks and everything from both the 40s house and the 60s house were in her home. I could smell grandma’s house walking through those with you and now I’m crying like a baby. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your work ❤ btw, I have one of those flannel sheets still, it’s a pride and joy
This means so much to me, isn't it lovely how things can just spark wonderful memories you probably haven't thought about for years and years, for me it was that radio! .. and I don't blame you for keeping the flannel sheet, they are amazing (and your comment made me teary eyed too!) x
I think every kid in the UK had the candy stripe flannel sheets. Ah it brings back so much nostalgia to see them again ❤😊
They are lovely aren't they, I am going to look out for them in Charity shops. I really want to own one again after stroking that one in the museum - my Nan had a whole ottoman full of them, sadly binned when she passed I suspect :(
@@throughlucyslens I asked my mum what happened to the ones we used to have as kids. Chucked out decades ago of course. But! you can get them in B&Q of all places! 🤣 I went on a hunt after watching your vid ☺️
My stepson uses old spice today.. aged 20!!
I think it smells nice. Good on him!
@@throughlucyslens makes me remember my grandad. I do enjoy teasing him for it.. but its better than Lynx lol
That was a nice house back in those days
I would think so, i'd live in it now!
Loved the street as well, I used to buy the fry’s chocolate bars from the corner shop
My Mom LOVES a Fry's Cream! :)
Oh that 60s house was a walk down memory lane for me.. and I've still got one of the old photo frames in the 40s house that was my Grandparents 😁🫂💚
My Nan had a bamboo one .. so nostalgic x
In the 1960s my parents house in Chicago Illinois had metal cabinets and the original 1954 refrigerator. People didn't upgrade for a new look we kept what worked. Vintage things still make me very happy. Thanks for the wonderful tour.
The same happened here in Buenos Aires. Argentina
my brothers 50s apt in ontario canada had metal cabinets...so durable.
15:30 - I have nothing in common with UK but seeing these vinyl wrapped shelves in there made me feel nostalgic. We had something similar in our summer house where, in early 1990's, my grandma decorated kitchen cabinets' shelves using old vinyl tablecloth. Both the cloth and cabinets, dating back to 1970's and coming from communist Poland, had much simpler design but just the idea of doing this brought back my memories of childhood.
Hey! Honestly I LOVE the homes & style of communist era Poland! Many many years ago I visited a museum in what was "East Germany" and I was shocked to see so many similarities to my own upbringing in the UK. People make do with what they have and this is reflected in things like the vinyl shelves. Thank you for sharing!
Both the 1940's house, and the 1960's house, brought me a lot of nostalgia, going to my grandmother's Colorado four-square house, built in 1910, and growing up in the 1960's in Nashville, myself.
Definite regional differences, sure, but it's amazing how much alike some of the things were.
I, too, had the rainbow striped flannel sheets.
And a very similar all-band radio, AM, FM, & short wave.
My mom definitely had a similar set of electric curlers, and I've still got many of those old kitchen implements.
So, even across the Atlantic, those rooms spoke volumes.
Thanks for sharing this nostalgic experience.
Very very welcome! And I love that you grew up in Nashville - it's a place I've always wanted to go, and Colorado! It's my dream to spend a good chunk of time really exploring off the beaten track places. Thanks so much for your comment and I'm happy it sparked some happy memories for you xx
So true! I grew up in a small town in New Jersey USA and there are so many similarities! And the differences are so interesting! You are doing a wonderful thing here Lucy!!
My mum had a lot of 1960s appliances as she got married in 1959. All were eventually renewed after I grew up.
I love the colours of them, the duck eggs and yellows. They are worth a fortune now!
When you first walked into the kitchen of the 30s house, it could have been my grandmas. Hers was in Melbourne, Australia and didn’t have the copper in the corner but otherwise similar. It was a Californian bungalow built around the 30s. When I stayed over I slept in the box room on the tiniest but tallest bed I’ve ever seen. It was a huge change from our spacious 1960s Victorian countryside home.
How lovely! I LOVE all the different housing styles in Australia because there are so many different types brought in from all over the world - one day I will visit!
😭 I feel like I can see my little old nan in that kitchen making dinner, and I had that striped bedding at her house for when I stayed over too. What amazing memories this evoked, thank you Lucy 💜
🥹🥹🥹 I love this! That bedding is just so nostalgic isn't it?
I live in Perth, Western Australia, but I remember those candy-stripe sheets. It seemed like everyone had them. The red jug in the kitchen caught my eye. I have one the same but in green, which I've had for over 50 years and I still use it. Thanks for the tour.
You are very welcome, I had a similar jug of my Paternal grandmother but one of my cats jumped up on the dresser and knocked it off smashing it - i've never forgiven him for that!
Over in Sydney Australia in the early 70’s, I also had that same striped flanelette sheet and pillowcase set!
We never had anything as fancy as a tomato slicer though 😊
I know .. imagine .. a tomato slicer! My Nan had one knife and used it for EVERYTHING from slicing bread to cutting up meat - when she passed it was like a thin sliver of metal having being sharpened so much over the years and I still have it. All I wanted was that knife and an old ice cream scoop she used to serve us up pudding with!
@@throughlucyslens Your nana had an ice cream scoop? That's a bit flash Lucy! Did you end up getting her knife and that ice cream scoop in the end?
I was born in 1950 and the houses and contents are so familiar to me. The food, the books, those bed sheets were all in my home. Our toilet paper was Izal and was harsh.
We had a couple of parrafin heaters to heat the bedrooms, you never forget the smell of them. They were never on long enough to really heat the rooms up, looking back money was very tight. That was the days when the window frames were metal and the glass used to be iced up inside.
Thank you for sharing this, it has evoked so many memories.
My primary school, in the late 70s, used to have Izal in the toilets. Although the teachers toilet cubicle had proper soft paper, so we would frequently nip into the teachers' cubicle and pinch their paper. Even as a child I could never understand the point of paper that wasn't absorbant.
You are so welcome and I am really glad you enjoyed it, means a lot to me - and I remember frozen windows inside .. I have an old banger of a car and during the winter I get in and think, my god I've gone back to 1983!
The one at our school had "property of Birmingham City Council" printed on each sheet - who one earth would have stolen that! I remember they gave me some for a nose bleed once - absolutely pointless!
i'm now 67 years old and back in the early sixties our toilet paper was always an old Western paperback novel that my dad had finished with cut in half and stuck on an old four inch nail on the wall , i was one of eight kids and my dad was earning £5 a week so we couldn't afford luxuries like Izal slippy toilet paper
Indeed I remember Izal toilet paper so well. "Hard and repellent" could have been the company's advertising slogan.
If it was still made with that slogan printed on every sheet it would be free of VAT! It would be advertising material not 'stationary', so be exempt from value added tax. 😃
I was born in 1948 so this was very nostalgic to me too. Brilliant post ❤
Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed it :)
Wonderful that this social history of working class people is being preserved by the Black Country Museum. Thank you for taking us round. I havent been thete for years and now live in the South West - so it would be a long trek to see it!
It's great isn't it? I think that's why I have always loved this museum even since I was a child - it's just REAL.
That house reminded me so much of my Grandparents 1930s Semi in SE London. They did have an upstairs bathroom, but no other mod cons. Up until my Grandad died in 1966, he never had a washing machine or fridge. Washing was done in a Gas 'Copper' in the corner of the kitchen, and a green mangle in the lean to. Milk was kept in a galvanized bucket of water. This brought back loads of childhood memories - thank you. Take care 🙂
You are very welcome! I also remember milk being kept in a bucket of cold water when the electric ran out of the meter! This is why I love these places, they spark the most forgotten memories x
I recognize the mother's scarves in the 1960s house. They're in my mother's top left dresser drawer....
Do you know, I’ve not been here since we were at school!
The ‘60’s high street looks amazing.
The second iron house really reminded me of my paternal grandparents house, and hearing the whisper of The Who in the background almost made me feel like Dad was there ❤
Right? That bedroom with the car posters on the wall I found it hard to speak, it was like being back in that house on Bondfield Road - only thing missing was a poster of a cowboy 😂
I had those sheets when I was a kid in the 70's
The best & softest sheets :)
Thankyou Lucy for sharing this gentle and very peaceful mooch through time!!
I’m an 80’s kid from Australia and this took me back to my Dad’s family farmhouse. Two of his brothers took over the family sheep farm in the 1950s, adding a 2nd weatherboard house across the paddock. The old sprawling 1900’s weatherboard had a huge AGA woodstove in the kitchen. Checkered lino floor, a white formica table and pale yellow kitchen cupboards with chrome Z shaped handles.
My Nana and Aunties had cooked for so many kids, shearers and farm workers over the years that the kitchen smelled of good tucker, woodsmoke, with a hint peppercorn and apple trees, and sheep. The rest of the house had wooden floors and grey & red floral carpet.
The boys’ sleepout was all ACDC and Metallica, Holden Monaro and Kenworth truck posters. The bathroom was all green tiles, a wooden handle flush on the side of the loo with a fluffy green lid 😂
I absolutely loved exploring the sheds, particularly the old Dodge flatbed truck with hand waving indicators 😂, a washboard and ringer, a rocket washing machine with a crank handle. All the eras piled together, well loved and well used.
Edit: i’m quite certain we also slept on the striped flannel sheets too! Best sleeps ever 🛌
I'm an 80s kid too and it always amazes me how many similarities between the UK & Aus. My Mom lived there for several years, she LOVED it, she said it was like living in the UK but how she liked to remember it. I loved reading your comment and it's making me fancy a bit of tucker myself now - probably a bit late here now though 😅
The Clark County Museum in Las Vegas has a collection of old homes decorated to the correct period. I love the prefab home made for workers building Hoover Dam in the 1930s. Boulder City near Las Vegas still has quite a few of the workers' homes, and they are still occupied. It's very cool to drive around and see the old neighborhoods.
DANG! I went to Vegas a few years ago and knew NOTHING about this, we didn't stay on The Strip, we stayed in the old part of Las Vegas and I absolutely loved it, instead of casinos I spent all day walking around museums and antiques shops - my god I would like to have brought so much home! Now I need to go again don't I?
How about I promise to visit Birmingham if you promise to visit Las Vegas. 😂
Deal 😂
My grandparents lived in a house built from iron panels in Symington in Scotland. They were demolished in the 80s. I remember me my sisters getting told off for bouncing a tennis ball against the outside wall of the house because it was so loud inside 😂
My gosh, I bet it sounded like a ball bouncing off the side of an ocean liner ... haha
Thank-you 😃
Very welcome x
Loved the 1960 house, I was a child in the 60s and I grew up in a house like this, everything about it was familiar, I had one of those record players and the striped sheets were exactly the same. Fabulous stroll down memory lane Lucy, thank you 🙏
You are so welcome Stella - I really appreciate that :) x
Well this has got me on the search for flannelette sheets!
People have told me you can buy them on eBay - the stripy ones too! 😍
Really enjoyed this video. Born in the 50s so love to see all the old vacuum cleaners and televisions. Thanks Lucy x
You are so welcome! My Mom still had a vacuum like that in the early 80s, an actual "hoover" I can almost smell it - had a very distinct smell about it 😂
Love a good 1960s house.😊
I visited again a couple of weeks ago to see the new 1960s street (last year we went to see the 1940/50s street) - it’s excellent and well worth a visit - you also get a free visit within 12 months from your ticket.
It's a bargain isn't it ! I'm getting a lot of use out of mine!
Just to let you know I've been enjoying your videos so much Lucy. You're making such a wonderful channel here! I'm a history fan from Dublin and I still recognise a lot of the decor and home styles from the mid century houses, particularly from visiting older family members. The excitement and nostalgia is real! Can't wait for more! 😊
Thanks SO much Laura, I really appreciate that, I am doing something I just genuinely enjoy, right now I can't believe my luck people are actually seeing them :)
I love the touch of what looks like a necklace hanging on the mirror. It looks like the owners just stepped out.
Lovely isn't it - it's these little touches that make these places so nostalgic.
You just don't see those stripey flannelette sheets any more do you, someone should make them again! I was born in 1962, and so much of this was so familiar to see, and it was lovely to see again, the museum has done a fantastic job of putting it all together ❤ 👏
Glad that you enjoyed your fair ground ride 👍 and thank you Lucy 😊
Thanks Margaret, I would love some of those pillow cases, I'm going to look out for them in charity shops. I want to rub my face on them 😂
OMG Lucy, you can still buy them 😯 I decided to Google candy stripe flanelette and there was quite a few to choose from, might be time to buy some new bedding! 😊👏
I have some on my bed now!
Whatttt???! Omg
Best sleep ever!
Loved the video. Please keep them coming. I have to admit the 60's house gave me goosebumps. I remember we had some of that stuff in our family home in the 60's.
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback Sue x
Thankyou for these wonderful memories.
My absolute pleasure x
I sold my wedding dress in 1966 to buy a kitchen cabinet like that, LOL. Vim still used, loved all this. 😊
I don't blame you - seems like a fair swap to me ;) ... I don't even know where my wedding dress is, that's terrible isn't it! But It was a vintage piece of Ebay, only cost me a couple of quid - wouldn't have got me a kitchen cabinet for sure!
Lucy, my boyhood town had thick Aluminium paneled prefabs and 'tarren' house estates. The tarren houses were brick/cement lower floor and the aluminium sheeted upper floor. The roof trusses were steel etc. Both styles had separate toilet rooms to the bathrooms, fitted kitchens from shaped aluminium/tin(?) the draining board with set in sink and a refrigerator, now that was luxury for temporary post war housing 😎 I think they were ment for short term life but the bungalow prefabs lasted to the 1980, the tarren houses still in use now. Of course the tarren houses are of non standard construction so they are not mortgage, but for space etc they are well sought after for cash purchases. There is a small enclave of prefabs bungalows in Altrincham that had the outside walls removed and brick walls put in place. When one comes on the open market it's sold very quickly. In the USA there were post war bungalows constructed in kit form from a company called Lustron, so they are known as Lustron houses. They are prefabricated enameled paneled bungalows, being internal and external panels. Being enamel there was a choice of 4 colours which never faded or needed decorating, just a wash down when required, easy peasey! Lots of info on tinternet about them. Again very desirable these days and prized for museums etc. Cheers DougT
Thanks Doug, that's brilliant! My Mom worked in a building society and she said she used to dread someone coming in wanting to buy a house of non-standard construction so she had to let them down gently - because, yes, these houses are so desirable. Love the idea of a wash down house .. yes please!
@@throughlucyslens thanks Lucy. It's worth googling Lustron homes, they were built specifically for returning forces. The interiors are very mid century furnished too. They perfectly suited US culture of open planned suburban sprawl. The prefabs of my birth town were very robust sheet aluminium(better than caravan quality) not compressed asbestos/cement like most were of the time. In fact modern versions would help the housing crisis of today? However Mrs T with her Right to Buy screwed up social housing in this country, my own POV of course. Look at how in demand those Canadian wood bungalows you recently featured are now prime real estate. Cheers DougT
We share the POV! I don't have anything good to say about Mrs T really 😬
Thanks for the tour!❤️🇨🇦
Very welcome Anita x
I live in Poland, have zero interest in content like this and no idea why UA-cam recommended it to me. BUT it's so cool to see someone so passionate about their hobbies, showing us around, engaging, interesting. Loved it. You're a natural storyteller. Have subscribed :D
Hello James - that's so cute! I love it - sometimes You Tube does the same to me too and I think "huh" and before I know it I am watching content about something I never thought about before. Hello to Poland - a beautiful country I would love to explore x
@@throughlucyslens Thank you!! I ended up watching quite a few of your videos and I must say the house tours/social history videos are actually really interesting, despite the fact I never expected myself to enjoy this content :) It's fascinating and much more interesting than videos on horrible hotel rooms 😂 Hope this will become your "niche"
@@jameswilson1295 It's strange really, the channel has just taken me to somewhere I always wanted to be! And yes I agree entirely! haha
I remember my dad smelling of Old Spice when I was growing up. As I got older I remember him telling me that my bedroom smelt like a tart's palace, due to my perfumes. Isn't it surprising how something small can trigger memories?
Tarts palace 🤣🤣🤣 omg .. I've heard that saying a few times off my own parents too! 100% the smallest things can trigger massive reactions x
That lux is just like my parent's,it was same colour.😊
I've really enjoyed your video. I visited the Black Country Museum in 2012 I enjoyed it very much. My hubby went in the Coal Mine. Which he thought was a great experience. I lived in a brick built council house from 1953 to when I got married in 1970. Before that we lived in a metal Nissan hut which dad fitted out for us. 1950 to 1953. My memory of that was a weekly bath before a roaring fire, and toasting crumpets for tea. I was approaching my 5th birthday. I remember our council house was always neat and tidy, my mum didn't like things left lying around. We had a toy cupboard in the living room. Two bedrooms and bathroom with separate toilet upstairs. A boiler in the kitchen that heated water and the airing cupboard on the landing. A coal fire in the tiled fireplace, in the living room. That was change to a gas fire eventually. It was a luxury for mum after the Nissan hut.
Gosh! A Nissan Hut!! I have never heard of people living longer term in those, that is absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing - your Mom sounds like mine .. everything has a place .. and out of the way! We weren't allowed toys downstairs, I used to think it was madness when I was a kid, but now I am an adult I understand completely!
The pastle striped sheets on the bed, was my childhood bed, I remember my gran having the long drag along vacuum, and the metal sweeper, remember pushing that up down and living room, lovely to watch thank you
Peas in a pod. I get so attached to the places. I remember the hoover too - and the slightly odd dusty smell that never really went as the bag didn't empty properly 😂
Hello Lucy that 1920,s was very similar to my grandparents only theirs was built of bricks in my village quenington we have 30 of them i think they are all sold off now and been modernised with exstainshons . My grandparents house had 3 bedrooms 2 large and a box room and a airing cupboard upstairs and bathroom, kitchen and sitting room downstairs the only heating was open coal fire in the sitting room and a coke fire in the kitchen witch heated the water, she also had a walkin larder it's a pity they don't build houses like it anymore ,my dad was still building houses in the same design in 1963 in the next town to our village when I was born they new how to build back then ,have a good weekend, roy,quenington gloucestershire .
Hi Roy, thanks for your sharing your memories, I don't know why they stopped building like this either, the size is just ideal for most families - and they were built to last :)
Hi Lucy great video. I moved into a new council house in 1967 it was made from some type of concrete panels and pebble dashed over they were bleak. It had huge windows and a full length window and glass door in the lounge. This was new to us all this glass, it was single glazed so was always running with condensation in the winter and we had rolled up towels on the sills and floor. It had hot air heating which all came out one vent and the rest of the house was cold. I remember sitting at my mum's sewing machine running up curtains which was a huge expense I can't see many 14 year olds doing that today. It had a Formica kitchen which was great and I remember coming home from school and mum standing there grinning pointing her new fridge we, had never had one before and of course those flannel sheets. The houses are still standing and the owners have tried to make them look less like a prison camp but it has not really worked.
PEBBLEDASH! My goodness - what was it with that stuff? We had it on the house I lived in as a kid too - and it's still there today. I think it's always interesting to hear from people who experienced living in places rather than looking through rose tinted glasses. Thanks for sharing x
Ive not been to this museum for 15 years, another trip is in order. Much of this reminds me of small Devon towns which were like this to an extent in the 90s, ive heard of iron houses but never seen one.
There are a lot of cob houses near me and a few straw ones. Seeing thease is fascinating.
A small town near me has a pub now a museum stuck in time from the 40s / 50s . My mums cleaning lady who lived until her 80s had no indoor heating apart from a real fire, no hot water and an outside toilet until she died in around 2009, the local mill owned her house but she refused modern conveniences even looking after her elderly mother and husband and working almost until she died
Its great to see our history being preserved lovely video.
Honestly women like that inspire me so much, thank you for sharing.
I'm still feeling very spoilt as I was born in 1963 and as far as I can remember, our homes were very modern compared to the 60's house in this video. I do remember my Mum had that Ewbank to push across the carpets instead of getting the vacuum out though and those stripy flanalette sheets. We always had central heating and a gas fire too. My Grandma had those stone hot water bottles though. We must have been quite well off. I absolutely love these videos! Well done, they're brilliant Lucy!
You are so welcome! You don't know what you have as a child do you as it doesn't matter as long as you are loved ❤️
When your own lived memories are featured in a museum, I guess at that point you have to accept you're old!! Like you that 60's house brought a bit of a tear to my eye. Excellent videos, thank you.
I would say wise, makes me feel better 🤣 it's beautiful isn't it? They really did nail it!
2:45 I tried to buy that bar of Cadbury fruit and nut for my mum with 1penny, I was so young I didn't understand money yet but I had a coin with 1 on it, it must have been 1 penny and the chocolate was 1 shilling, this must have been about 1962, Whenever I see the chocolate advert today of the girl doing the same thing in the shop trying to pay with buttons I'm back in that shop standing on my tip toes trying to see over the counter and talk to Mrs Miller the owner, she gave me a small bar of Cadburys that did cost 1 penny which mother got for her birthday so it was July 4th 1962 at about 10am, mad isn't it how things transport you back through time, smells do it a lot for me, fresh cut grass reminds me of lying in bed aged about 4 or 5 with the windows wide open listening to my dad cut the grass in the late evening when the sun is going down, nostalgia, great, isn't it.
It's lovely. Your comment actually gave me goosebumps. If I smell night scented stock it reminds me lazy days playing in the garden with my sister as the sun went down trying to squeeze out an extra 5 minutes before bed time. I'll think of you every time I see that Cadbury advert now x
Another fantastic video lucy..especially the 1960s tour of the iron house..i was born in 1962 and oh the memories of my parents house was almost a copy of this house...the pink candlewick bedspread and striped sheets..in winter mum would put old coats on our beds to keep us warm!!..the kitchen cabinets too are an exact copy of what we had..along with the carpet sweeper..and stand food mixer..we had open fires too..no cental heating..and a stone floor..just brill.thank you.x
This is so lovely: thank you. That house is very very evocative isn't it? Even though it was the 80s my grandad hadn't done any work on the house since the 60s at least, the carpet and the sofa and the kitchen were almost a carbon copy. If they had a little tinsel Christmas tree and boxing on the telly I would have been back!
Oh yes! Candlewick bedspreads (and dressing gowns!) were the go down in Oz too!! RjB
We have so many similarities as nations - I think our senses of humour are similar too!
If you ever get up North Lucy visit beamish museum it's very similar they are concentrating on building the 1950s area at the moment
I've always wanted to go! My Mom & I are planning a visit up there in my camper van over the summer so watch this space - I fell in love with going in about 1986 when it was on Blue Peter and still haven't been 🤭
You will love it.
you will enjoy lots of areas in the North East if you can manage to get a good few days up here.
Yes if I come that way it's got to be a good week!
Even though I was born in early 90s we still had a vintage candy stripe bedding set at home ❤️. These houses are so lovely. I really enjoy going to places like this. When I was in Kent, I loved Kent Life museum - mostly re located farmhouses but also there were some cottages and shops there- just so fascinating. These ones are very homely. Such a shame they didn't quite meet the criteria. Thanks for showing! ☺️.
You are very welcome, I was born in the 80s and we had the candy stripes too - just goes to show how well made and well loved they are, I think I might look for some in charity shops!
As a man in my mid sixties watching this brings back memories of my childhood. Having many Aunts and uncles whom we visited often both interiors reflect the houses I would visit all contained a mix of furnishings from different periods Both my grandmothrs had wrap round aprons for everyday work and "Dutch aprons "for Sunday and entertaining.pity you didn't show us the gardens , as these also were a good sign off social differences and pride of owners and tennants alike the Museum has done a great job and I hope the school children to whom you referred learnt something upon. their visit.
The gardens aren't ready yet unfortunately, it looks like they are going to be allotments but at the moment it's just piles of soil .. I shall go back :) Glad it sparked happy memories for you.
Another fascinating history lesson. Of the two, I prefer the 1940s side because that's the era I have in my home. Being an early 70s baby, I remember houses with 60s decor, as people didn't update anywhere near as frequently as they do today. Both my grandmas houses had those tiled fireplaces. They each lived in very different houses, one in a 1900s terrace in Kent and the other in a 1950s bungalow in Hertfordshire, but the tiled fireplace was always present.
People just didn't decorate did they? My parents were the first generation who were the "DIY generation" I think - as a child our house was changed every year! It made your head spin. Thanks for your lovely comment, it's a shame so many of those fireplaces were smashed up and thrown on tips - bet they are worth a fortune to interior designers now!
i grew up in canada, but this was what i saw as britian even beyond the 60's and well into the 80's alot of the time....................
You were quite right to be honest 🤣
I loved this thank you
Very welcome x
This is a wonderful channel! Thank you.
Glad you enjoy it and you are very welcome :)
The 60’s house really reminds me of my maternal grandparents maisonette. The kitchen was the same turquoise and white, the lounge had a similar china cabinet, and Nanny had a tin like the Quality Street one. Nanny died when I was 6, Grandad when I was 11, I am now 47. The only difference was they the bathroom was upstairs, the toilet in a separate room to the basin and bath.
I have just said to my husband that we need to visit the museum. I haven’t been since I was 12. My paternal grandparents took me. I only have my paternal grandfather left now, he is 97 and still in fine form, quietly planning his 100th birthday celebration.
We are a similar age, my paternal grandparents passed when I was 3 and 10 .. but I remember their house SO clearly, like really really clearly. I was lucky to have my Moms parents until fairly recently and their home was a little bit more modern but still had plenty of quirky features - including that wonderful radio :) Keep on planning that big 100th - he'll get there :)
I went to the Black country museum in the late 1990's. I remember going inside one of the Iron houses.
Oh wow, were they very different then?
@@throughlucyslens to be honest, I can't say.
Yet another goodun, Lucy!! I'm afraid the "beautiful" grand, stately homes leave me cold - give me the homely dwellings any day, so I love your Social History investigations! Although, that said, some aspects of poorer living I'm happy to leave in the past - one of my early 50s memories is that horrible thin "Bulldog" toilet paper which was shiny on one side : AARRGH!!! 🤣 RjB
WHY oh WHY was it shiny - I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out it's not going to be the most effective for bodily functions !! haha
Even though I live & was brought up in NZ so many of these items bring back memories to me. Those striped sheets & Vim for starters 😂😂👍
Remember with Vim you just could never get the smell of your hands? What on earth was in it? haha
Peaky blinders set, instantly recognised.😂 never thought I'd feel as though I'm part of history now Lucy, candlewick bedspreads, heated rollers, it's all fantastic. It's really making me want to go this museum.
It's really great and you could spend a couple of days here and not see everything, you get a free return for 1 year with your entrance so you can go over and over again.
yes,it looks so familiar. even though my memories are from usa. could decorate a home from the 40's on with everything my mom hung onto. took me 2 years to bring space to charming liveable.
A real treasure trove, how wonderful!
Beautiful tour thank you so much. I love the “Black Country Museum” but we relocated to Scotland 🏴 lovely to see it again ❤
Aww hope you are having a lovely time up in Scotland though, it's a place I just haven't visited enough and I'm desperate to!
@@throughlucyslens my husband and I came to visit here in Ayrshire and fell in love with the unspoiled countryside it’s stunning. House prices are very affordable compared to England. We couldn’t afford to live there anymore. Originally I am from Meriden between Coventry and Sheldon. The people are so friendly and laid back.
I need to go there - never been. I collect 60s crockery, too! (Meakin Studio) I'd never heard of steel houses, so thank you for the info. I was a child in the 1960s - we had a black iron range in the kitchen of our 1930s semi, coal fires in the downstairs rooms, no heating upstairs, and a potentially lethal gas heater with no flue in the hall 😫😫. Stair rods on the stairs, lino flooring, bath taps like the ones you show - and my dad refused to use anything but Izal toilet paper 😫😫😫. No washing machine as my dad didn't see the point of them so mum had to traipse to the launderette on the bus!!!!
I reakon there's a few generations with elephant skin on their behinds .. we had it at school and it had "property of Birmingham city council"'on it - like anyone would ever steal it 😂 you I actually want to make a video about laundrettes - they were such an important social hub,'and a ruddy burden to so many women!
@@throughlucyslens ha ha ha "property of Birmingham city council" 😂😂 We had it at school, too. Evil stuff!
@@throughlucyslens Don't forget washing machines were luxury items, they cost and arm and leg as were fridges/vacuum cleaners and televisions
I was born in 1980 and we rented our telly until at least the 90s - they were well out of our reach to own x
@@throughlucyslens we rented our telly through Radio Rentals. Black & white, of course...
Definitely brought back childhood memories from the 1960s. The candystripe sheets, the chocolate bars my favorite being the fresh 5 centres. Just loved this video
Thanks Lynn! Those 5 centres were lovely weren't they? Like 5 mini chocolate bars in one - and I am sure the bars were much bigger! they had an example of a Cadbury Flake and it's 3 times the size!
Another place to add to my list of places to visit. Love that you can get right in and have a proper nosey in the drawers and cupboards.
It's really great! Try to go outside school holidays if you can (unless you have kids in tow) because it's much much quieter and you get time to soak it up x
That 60s model I remember. I was very young but i do remember
You never forget do you x
Thank you so much for making this video in the wonderful Black Country Museum. I was born in the sixties in Dudley so it really meant something to me. I remember so many of the objects featured in the video. The Ewbank and the stripey flannelette sheets really struck a chord! My very first memory was of watching Mum doing the ironing in the kitchen with "Lilly The Pink" on the radio! Mum used her 1960's washing machine with electric mangle on he top until she had her kitchen refitted in the 1980's
I love your channel. Always informative and fun to watch!
Thank you Catherine. It was the pillowcases and the radio that did it for me. My Nan always had the radio on - it always seemed to be Les Ross and I'd sit at the booth my grandad made out of old bits of wood and be spoilt rotten with loads of cakes & pop 🤭
Thank you Lucy for an excellent video!
I went last year to the Black Country museum but sadly the iron houses weren’t then open so it’s great I can see them here.
Although the 1940’s are my great passion, it was lovely to see the 1960’s house too. Lots of memories of my 1980’s childhood where, being only 20 years later, lots of the sixties era was still in our homes ( like you I collect the midwinter china as reminder of my godparents home )Great work
Thanks Ben, 80s childhood here too and I completely agree with what you said.My Grandparents homes hadn't moved on much at all apart from a better telly rented from Radio Rentals in the corner 🤣
YES! cannot wait to watch this later. Thanks Lucy!
Lovely! Sweet memories. So much was similar to things here in the US in the 60s.
Thanks so much, I love these houses so much, love sparking memories for people x
I've always wanted to go here. Will have to go as I just love exploring old house museums.
Agree how they make you remember your grandparents homes 😢❤
You must visit, it's lovely! There are several other similar museums depending where you are in the UK x
OMG, that wall paper is almost exactly the same as my British husband and I had on the entrance hall wall in 1970, in SOUTH AFRICA! We got most of our fancy stuff from the UK then, and we certainly though that was fancy.
Remembering too, that South Africa ran about a year behind the UK in trends.
Wow that's amazing!!! I have absolutely loved to hear this x
I meant to add that Australia also had many prefab iron houses, as the Goldrushes necessitated emergency housing and Sth Melbourne (Victoria) had around 100 of the dwellings by the 1850s, of which only 3 remain today as National Trust museums. However, in our climate, they would surely have been like living in an oven!!!! 😓 RjB
You know it must have been like a PIZZA OVEN, I wonder if they invented innovative ways to keep cool or just got used to it? I am absolutely terrible in the heat so if (when) I visit Australia i'll be sure to come during your winter!
My first home with my parents was a Anderson home it was a prefab it had three bedrooms an up stairs bath room a kitchen an a very large front room that was an L shape I still remember the coal fire in the font room a a beast on boiler in the kitchen it used to clow a dull cherry red on bath night as this was how we got hot Warter.There are still some of these home about in Stafford on a street called the drive in doxey .We eventually moved in to a brick home and they were demolished
We're ther we're eight Anderson home .The council built 28 new home on the land so you can imagine how big they were .We lived it the prefab for 12 year mum dad and three kids ho happy days 😇😇😇
So lovely to hear your memories, and loved the part about the water heating. Amazing to hear how happy you were in an Anderson home
Hi Lucy, love what you do ,as you these old houses even in Australia remind me of my beautiful grandparents and the love that was in their humble home always. Thanks so much .❤
Thank you for coming with me for a look around, I am glad you enjoyed it and even happier it sparked some joyful memories for you :) x
Absolutely gorgeous houses, reminds me of my grandmas house
Aren't they gorgeous? Me too - I went around with tears in my eyes because I kept getting things popping into my head I hadn't thought about for many many years. There was even a handbag on the sofa just like my Nan left it - if there had been a knitting bag by the side of the armchair too I would have lost it!
Another lovely tour! I think that black and white mixer on the counter are still the best! My mom had one. Thank you so much Lucy! You are a dear!!
I had one of those mixers too - but sadly I burnt out the motor making meringue - my bad, it was too old really but I really wanted to experience using one!
WE still have a whole estate of prefabs in the Ashfield area and they have big plots and they are loved by those living in them .
Oh wow. I am so happy to hear about all these amazing prefabs still being enjoyed. I think they are wonderful!
The 1960's house is so much like the house we are doing up which was built in the 1940s. The house still had it's pink fireplace and we still have the original swirly 60's carpet (but has some gorgeous oak parquet flooring underneath) and the 60's kitchen with the liners in the pantry.
Oh that's lovely, I really love those pantry liners. They are like a glimpse into the past that survive because they are hidden. Your house sounds beautiful :)
Superb, thanks.
Thank you too!
The hot rollers made my scalp hurt, just looking at them! Ahhh!
Right? I used to think "grin and bear it, they will soon cool down" .. so spiky too .. heat and spikes in your head .. great idea! haha
9:57 You see this doorway, I don’t know if the viewers are aware that this door wasn’t necessarily put in by the museum for convenience but I first discovered this unusual feature when I got married in 1987 and me and my wife moved into our first RAF Married Quarter at 19 Oxford Square, RAF Locking in Weston Super Mare. RAF Married quarters the name given to the houses often located on station “inside the wire” were usually built on standard council house format being all government owned. Our house had stairs that went up half along the front side of the house and turned right onto a little landing before turning right again and going up about another 5 stairs to the top floor. But on the little landing was a locked door which would have if it had opened, taken you through to the house next door to the same place but mirrored because the houses were all semi detached. The door itself looked like a door but didn’t have any handle or lock but was instead screwed or nailed into position. The idea was that post war, some families would have more children (Boomer generation) and so the councils (or the RAF / Army / RN) could allocate 2 houses for bigger families, they would then send around workmen to remove the panel between the 2 houses and also remove one set of cookers from one of the kitchens and you would have a 6 bedroom house with 2 “living rooms”, one kitchen and maybe 2 dining rooms plus a spare kitchen and of course 2 bathroom and 2 separate toilets 🚽 hahah
What was funny though was that the panel door separating both houses was made of 2 sheets of hardboard or plywood with the usual twin top and bottom framing to strengthen the door… because they were thin you could hear often “conversations” or “goins on” or even the odd bit of “ows yer father” occurring 😂😂😂 and if you were friendly with next door or not, you could shout through the door “encouraging statements” or maybe “turn it in mate … some of us are trying to sleep “ 😂😂😂
That's absolutely fascinating .. and talk about forward planning for the ooos and aaghrs heard through said plywood door!!! haha
My new favourite channel, you’re so lovely! Thank you so much.
Wow, thank you! 🥹🥹🥹 honestly that means a lot!