Hi all the video was very good and pretty accurate , i was born and bred at 32 Clifton Road Aston in 1952 and we had back to backs down the entry behind us they were grim but people managed even without hot running water no central heating just one outside toilet and a tin bath, there was no mould in the house because it was too cold for it to live but even with all the poverty people had pride in their houses polishing the steps and sweeping up , it seems to me nowadays people have everything but won,t clean up and don,t have pride in their homes or cars . Raz
i used to live near the h.p sauce and police station ,rocky road and aston brooke green next to the underpass back in the 80s they were tiny houses as well
My mother used to boil our clothes and then put them through a mangle. She dried them on a washing line. Frequently, if it rained she would have to take everything inside and then put it out again when the rain stopped. She did this until the mid 1960s at which time she got her first washing machine and spin dryer.
Sounds like my nana...her and Granda had no inside water / toilet or bath .....we kids used to go down the the back yard and fill the enamel bucket up from the tap on the back wall ..... outside toilet /tin bath /washhouse (for clothes) air raid shelter got converted into a greenhouse after ww2 ......beautifully clean warm brick cottage.....lived there until 1972....south wick Sunderland Co Durham (as was)....
My mom washed everything by hand back in the 70s as she couldn't afford a washing machine. Big overalls of my dad's, sheets , big towels, blankets, you name it she got everything looking clean and bright.
@@fmcm7715 there was a kind of electric I think heated thingy for drying clothes in if the weather was desperately bad and you could not get the last damp out of things. It was called a Flatley. I inherited an ancient one in 1978 which was rather cold. I bought my first twin tub from the MEB a year later, older women had been using them for years. Launderettes became a thing in the late 50’s but people living in back to backs rarely used them. It was a thing of prided to get that spotless line of whites out….
That's bloody luxury, my parent's house (mother from India father from Pakistan). We had 2 up 1 down (single room over passage). Living room/kitchen dining. Older sister and I in single room, and parents in bigger bedroom later younger sister in 1972. Coal shed and adjoining Toilet shared by 4 families! Basically a plank with a hole in it! Yes in 1969! Stone floor in kitchen ceiling joists no plastered ceiling. Heater/with stove top. Manual washing machine with mangle. So I know slum living!
We bought a one up one down in 1991ish..it stood on a piece of land and had no other land with it at all. The living room and kitchen were combined with no back door and upstairs a tiny bedroom and a tiny bathroom had been put in and it was warmed with a fire downstairs. It was described as charming by the estate agent.it was certainly cosy 😆. I had it for about 3 years and then moved onto a bigger house but it helped get us on the property ladder and was all we could afford at the time x it was really tiny
@@Ihfmpw8this happened at my nanas when my baby nephew was babysittered if that's a word....😊....the drawer was removed from the chest thing of course 👍🏻...
There are still plenty of back to backs still left in Birmingham, they just have indoor loos in their kitchen/ bathroom extensions now. Most of which date back to the 70s. Fifty years ago! 😊
@@peterwilliamallen1063, yes lived in one myself for a number of years and could easily take you on a tour of places where they still exist. Some of them are in streets and adjacent to areas with far larger homes with gardens some of them are not and have only the tiniest of yards out back and are served by very narrow alleys. The housing density of the latter would be illegal now to build. I know of back to backs that had no toilets at all when built, but has to share outside facilities at the end of the street. They still exist, but with extensions as my first post stated. Mostly two up two downs, with a parlour and all purpose kitchen/living room downstairs, and one bedroom and a balcony room the latter for children no matter how many. Most with front doors that open onto the street. I remember women scrubbing the front door steps and the washing lines between the building. Some in my constituency were pulled down in the 60s, but many still exist in other parts of the city.
@@lindyashford7744 As a Brummie I do believe you are living in fairy land as all Back to Back houses were eleiminated from Birmingham in the early 1970's, I worked as n apprentice Gas Fitter and latter a Gas Engineer and went in these houses to retrieve the gas meters before demolision and the last area they were removed from were Aston/ Lozells and these in Hurst Street are the only back to back slums owned by the National Trust in Birmingham. A Back to Back House is as it is called small badly built houses backing on to one another with a communial yard with shared toilet blocks in it and the hoses would have one parlour, a small kitchen and may be two bedrooms, what are left in Birmingham are ols terraced Houses in the inner City areas but these are not back to back houses
@@lindyashford7744 All Back to Back houses exept those now owned as a Museum in Hurst Street in Birmingham City Centre were demolished in the early 1970's, I know that as I was a 17 year old pprentice Gas Fitter with the West Midlands Gas Bord and had the job of removing the Gas Meters from them before they were demolished into History
There's still more back to backs in lozells in Birmingham I lived in one in the 1990s nice and cosy it was two unusual because it was double fronted..two rooms down one bed and a bathroom upstairs 😊..what a lovely video thanks for sharing with us all 🙏😁
It was near charleville road off the Soho rd ..i think it was wellington terrace I'm sorry it's a long time ago but it was a lovely little place and I may visit and make a Tiktok about it one day hopefully I still live in Birmingham
Also if you had your back to the Soho rd .. walked down charleville road..turn left ..there was a pub on a corner...on the left ..but over the road in the pavement....turn left..and it was the next street on the right...walk along that and there was a square arrangement of little old houses. On the right it was lovely..and very quiet at night time
When we stayed with Grandma at 2/93 Mansfield rd Birchfield...we had to go to school so my Mother walked us to the Lozels where we walked on our own to St Mary's Convent....meanwhile my Aunty Olivia lived in a house right on the main rd.in Lozels....
I was born in a back to back in Arthur Street Small Heath in 1952. When we moved to the new housing estate of Kingshurst 7 miles away in 1957 it was like moving to the country! Small Heath has always been regarded with fond memories as the "Old End"!
1 back of 78 Goodrick st nechells that was my grandads place ! I’m 70 now but can still remember my visits there ! Your video brought back lots of memories ! Good job ! Don’t know why I can still remember the address
Hi Joseline, I watched this video this morning and found it to be a fascinating look at this often forgotten part of Birmingham history. Congrats on a well researched and educational piece.
@@citiesthroughmyeyes it’s not a tunnel it’s called an entry , you are correct you do not know what you are talking about , I suggest you do your research,
Did anyone know Betty Green, I think she was involved with the opening of the back to back houses . She was a wonderful lady, I knew her way back.I have been searching for the footage of her telling the story of how she lived in the back to back house. If anyone can help me find, it would be fantastic to see her face again. Rest in peace Betty, you were such a lovely lady to have known .
As a small child, I used to love feeding the clothes through a mangle when I stayed at my Grandma's house. She had a big copper in her washhouse, and her clothes used to look snow white and very well washed.
I remember c1971 enjoying feeding the clothes through the mangle in the garden 😮. Always a tad scared of the rollers and what they could do to my hand!!! Grief I now feel very old 😂
People are shocked they returned from war to live in poverty. In Canada indigenous soldiers were sent back to the reserve abd lived in abject poverty and not acknowledged for war efforts untill well into the 1990s. In the states the black soldiers were once again forced to use black only bathrooms etc. it’s unbelievable really.
I love social history. My grand parents had to live and work in such nieghbourhoods and with such washing techniques. They are realalistic in thier attitudes back then. I could not survive without my washing machine personally. Thank you for sharing tis interesting video.
There are thousands of back to backs still occupied in West Yorkshire - Leeds, Bradford, Halifax etc. Great Yarmouth had houses of this style as early as the 15th century, but they were called Row houses, not back to backs.
Yes! Imagine coming home from a devastating war that nearly bankrupted the country and destroyed untold numbers of homes and not finding a mansion waiting for you to move into with all the modern conveniences!
In their day these were cosy homes more spacious than you would think better than some of the cardboard mould ridden rabbit hutches slapped up today......
That's why they're built all those terrorist houses in the 1920s because the cat was out of the bag by that point and the king and the establishment had to repay the British public Think of all the council housing built pre Second World War If they wouldn't have done this they would have been a revolution
Excellent video, 👍 and the story of how these squalid, fetid, pestilential slums can be remade into these cute little jewel boxes for 1 or 2 people! But as this row on Hurst Street took about £250k per back-to-back house, the 1970 municipal estimate of just £30 sterling per unit to bring them up to code sounds downright ludicrous!
Hello Edward, sorry for the late reply. I need to up my game when it comes to replying to comments back-to back (sorry 😉). Thank you for watching the video, I'm glad you liked it. I wish I could live in one of those back-to-backs. If it wasn't for the long lease of the tailor, Hurst St last surviving back-to-backs would have been long gone...
I remember taking my son when he was very young to see the back to backs as i missed a college trip. So had to make my own arrangements to see it. My son embarassed me no end. He was touching everything. Then he was trying on some clothes that were on the beds. Oh my life!!!. The guide was absolutely lovely and the other people visiting. He only behaved after getting sweets from the old shop. But its a beautiful place to visit.
I lived in one up one down back to back . There's thousands to back to back in bradford still being used the tunnel are called ginels or ginells in bradford. The old maid was called a poster where I lived
We had a mangle for ages. My mum and her neighbour in the late 50s used to rent a washing machine between them, Mondays were wash days starting with the whites and then onto the darker wash. I remember the washing lines full of billowing laundry. My Nan had a scullery and a pantry. The floor in the pantry was slate to keep it cool and a shelf of slate to put your meat and diary on. My mum and dad used a draw as a cot for me when I was brought home from hospital as my brother was still in the cot as they couldn’t afford a new bed for him, but, it was only for a short time. I used to share these memories with my students who used to look at me as if I lived in the dark ages so, I had to explain this wasn’t that long ago as the Country was recovering from WWII and rationing went on for some considerable time. The vlog is very informative.
I used to help my Aunty pull the sheets through a electric mangle and them she hung them on wooded bars and pull them up to the ceiling to dry in the winter
I still live in my grandma's house , back to back, one bedroom, living room/dining room, larder, still has the cold tap (hidden behind wall now) I used to help my gran use the mangle in cellar. We had a top load hotpoint washer, 2 buttons, on and off. you had to use a bucket or 3 of water to load it. my gran used a big piece of wood to stir the the washing powder to the hot water before putting the round lid on switching it on. The only thing thats changed since is the update in decor. We had black and white tv, and the first people on our street who got a colour tv everyone was invited to their house to watch it. It was magic. Unfortunately its nothing like is it now But at least ive still got memories. I loved it.
Much better to do washing by hand, no electricity consumption, good exercise & got the clothes cleaner than an automatic washing machine. Also it was very common for babies to sleep in a drawer. I was born in the 60’s & my brother in the late 40’s & we would both sleep in a drawer as small babies.
What exactly is wrong with consuming electricity? They are, after all, trying to turn all cars into electric ones! Electric bicycles are the rage. So pray tell, why wouldn't I use a washing machine to wash my clothes?
Washing by hand is fine if you have all day to do your washing and drying, most modern families do not have the time to do that. My grandmother was thrilled in the 60's when she moved into a modern flat with electricity, plumbing, indoor toilet and a kitchen.
In 1973 I went to South Korea to live in a small town near to Camp Stanley where my husband was stationed. I washed my clothes like all the other Korean women. As a matter of fact they taught me. I had a big rubber basin and a wash board. I hung up my clothes to dry. That clothes came out bright and spotless.
Hello Ann, I don't know what happened but I missed a couple of comments including yours. Sorry 😢Thanks a lot for watching this video, I'm glad you enjoy watching my content.Take care!
Thank you Chris 🙂 I definitely recommend you to pay the Back-to-backs a visit. It is worth it. They were supposed to be demolished (the last ones in Bham) but George Saunders, the tailor, had a long lease until 2001. In the meantime the National Trust was able to save the Court.
People of this country survived all this and worked to a better standard of living, through hard work, we are being dragged back now by people who can’t be arsed to improve their iwn country to a better standard, but they are happy to come here and drop our standards.
My cousin lives in a back to back terraced house in Lancashire. They still exist. A one up, two down. They do have an inside loo and bathroom of course.
Yes, we called them 'entry' too. I was born and brought up in Sparkhill, and there was a similar entry for our house and our neighbour. However, these were not back to back, they were relatively middle class houses in Phipson Road.
Hello, just the tailoring shop because the owner had a long lease. And that’s why the Council couldn’t demolish Court 15. And that gave enough time for Conservation groups to protect the last back-to-backs from city planners
Some houses that are built today living room kitchen and the dining room open plan they call it, they’ve gone backwards in their design, not improved match.
@@citiesthroughmyeyes Our neighbour there was unfortunate to have her daughter and son in law to be the first people killed in a road accident on the newly opened M1. The stairway had a door with a lock on the living room side, we were burgled by two people who got in through the outside cellar and they clocked us all upstairs and raided all the coins from the gas meter. No telephones then, dad was working nights and mom was awake but could do nothing. The Police found them later and said the culprits were armed with knives and it was a good job they locked the door in a way.
Wow! That must have been a traumatic experience. I've never had someone breaking into my house. Burglars tend to be extremely violent...The Police is right, it's a good thing they locked the door... I am doing a project: Brummies Childhood Memories. Basically it's a Brummie only project in which people would recall their childhood memories on a wide range of subjects (school, neighbourhood, hobbies, anecdotes, etc.) and I will add the audio as a voice-over for my walking tours. Would you want to share more of your childhood memories with us?
@@citiesthroughmyeyes thank you for the info! 😍 some of my ancestors lived in similar style houses in Worcester. It’s good to see how the houses may have looked.
Of course (as the end of this video shows) there is absolutley nothing wrong with back-to-backs in principle any more than side-to-sides. The issues they had were: the poor quality of the construction, inadequate drainage and sewerage, damp, over-crowding and the habits of some of the occupants. I like the idea that they were not properly ventilated given that now modern flats and houses are made almost air-tight to reach today's standards and, if the occupants aren't careful, fantastic places for mold to grow.
I used to live in a back house in Watery lane when I was about 12.we had no bathroom, we had a sink at the top of the cellar stairs and hah to have a wash there,so did mum and dad. (Not all at once)ha ha.
I lived in watery lane as a child as well I remember a wash house at the top of the court yard and we had to climb a wall at the back of court yard to get to the park
Levy family from Eastern Europe means Jewish refugess. Call it what it is! Watch making was one of the typical occupations of the Jews... not to mention jewellery makers, goldsmiths etc.
And they just kept Having Baby after baby after baby! My God , how did thodevWomen NOT see how irresponsible to keep having baby's was? No wonder you would live in poverty. The UK series "Call the Midwife" doesn't even Scratch the surface on how horrible life was even past the Q980s. Desirable government response for the poor! But All Governments in All Countrys do the same thing. Poor people are tho be ignored.😢
Congratulations on your video "Inside Birmingham's Last Surviving Back-Back Houses 50-54 Inge Street And 55-63 Hurst Street | England April 2022" inspirational thanks for sharing proverty toilets inside. 🧺❤️🤍💙
Where you live might not be that important, but how you live is. Life can be awfully hard without basic amenities. People had shorter lives and were less healthy. If trickle down economics worked, all the mine, factory, land workers of the past would have been wealthy.
@@annepoitrineau5650 people had the amenities they were just different not everybody lived in💩 in the old days...a new build can be a slum if it's not looked after....
@@azillliasmith2734 And that one too. Life in Manchester was also quite dire. There were bosses (quakers mostly) looking after their employees, but most were not. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Labour_and_the_London_Poor
@@annepoitrineau5650yes interesting wiki post..... of course there was not one overall condition for the entire population at any one time.....and some industrialists built villages for their workforce to a good standard........many worked well when they were being used the way they were designed to be used.......only became slums when they became overcrowded and had no proper upkeep or repairs....Leeds was another industrial town that built thousands of back to backs and some to a very poor standard...... the city continued to build this type of "dwelling" long after an act was past in parliament banning them .....interestingly there are thousands still standing being used as homes and going for a good price..... Can't help thinking of some of the new build with bedrooms that aren't big enough to get a wardrobe in and kitchens too small to open the fridge freezer door unless the kitchen door is shut....no where to air clothes....of course they are not all that bad...
Yeah we had one when we were first married some surprisingly spacious inside often with a a cellar with a door with windows on both sides opening to a space where the bin lived (before wheelies) and an outside toilet and steps leading up to the garden ....great "little" home homes and brilliant community Spirit...those that had no gardens would put paddling pools on the pavement for the kids in the summer no bother really nice kind atmosphere ......my kids loved living there....😊
Can't believe people lived like that in those days. It was only in the previous century and in the middle of England. The British empire wealth was not seen there...
I visited this place, having seen it's opening on the BBC TV news. Having been born in Brum, and lived in 8 different house styles, newish to Victorian Terrace, but not Back to back. Facinated, I drove up from the West country. Having just started my Family Tree research. I discovered a great aunt had lived near by to Inge St. In the Courtyard, It was very interesting, but reminded me of a miniture prison Yard. The communal Toilet looked a lot cleaner than I think it would be in reality, obviously.
I waa raised in back-to-back house. Outside privy shared with another family. End of garden. Ground floor, 1 room stone flag floor, one electrical socket one light hung from ceiling joist. There were never a plastered ceilings. Wooden Stairs to back of room with tongue & groove boarding. My parents bedroom neighbouring bedroom above passageway lino floor large frame bed shared by me and sister I was 6 sister being 10. My youngest sister in cot in parent's bedroom. So 1 socket each room. Metal wc pan under bed. So I'm 57, moved out of back to back in 1971 into a very large end terrace house. Still shared bedroom with older sister. Attic bedroom was rented out, basement room had it's own toilet and separate kitchen. Also rented out. My parents bought a very large house and rented out the mentioned. It was a massive upscale move. 4 bedroom house with first floor 1930s bathroom. Living room, drawing room, kitchen and huge hallway. Whilst in back to back, row of houses across road demolished. Eventually become social housing and flats.
Just sent my daughter a text to watch this video. She'll be flabbergasted to see where her mum lived in the 1950s. To be honest I only have fond memories of these times. My mom was very house proud and spotless. Our kitchen was only big enough for a sink and a cooker, where mom used to boil the white laundry and rinse and wring everything by hand. People used to talk to each other in those days. Wasn't until the moors murders that children were told not to talk to strangers.
@@stevebuckley2429 we called it a kitchen even though it wasn't big enough to swing a mouse. A sink ,draining board and cooker. No work surfaces. We kept coal in the cellar. Folks next door kept chickens down there
I don’t want to glamourise living in the back to backs which is what I did in the ‘50’s and 1960s, however, when you look at the ‘modernisation’ of Hurst Street , including the ‘upgraded’ Hippodrome, it looks awful. Even comparing your video at the beginning showing 1985 run down Victorian frontages, they look more lovely to me than that which replaced it. Even the street lighting is awful. Thank you 1:531:53 1:53 National trust for returning this court 15 to its original beauty.
Really enjoyed that, thanks very much for doing it. My nan lived in a back-to-back in Birmingham when she was a child, and I took her here in around 2008. She loved it. My nan passed away a few days ago, and your video was a great reminder of the lovely day out we had.
My Nan grew up in a back-to-back house with a communal yard. She had to share a bed with her three sisters! She told me at the weekend, they had what they called "gypsy parties", dragged the piano out into the yard and had a sing-song!
@zappababe8577 having to share a bed with 3 siblings sounds like a lot of people's experience back then! I bet the sing-song was one of the highlights of the week. I'm really glad the last few back-to-back houses in Birmingham were saved from demolition and people get to see what life was like for so many working-class people.
My grandmother was thrilled to move into a high rise flat in the 60's, it had a kitchen with hot and cold water and an inside toilet, she thought it was wonderful. She did not miss her 3 tiny cold, damp rooms at all, certainly not the outside toilet and rats.
there was a row of back to backs on the side road of st pauls snowhill was blocked in by a big advert wood panel,a few folks used to squat in 2 of them ,there was 6 houses ,,3 of them were gutted to get the other 2 liveable in ,and a rigged electric cable from the sign lamp to get power ,water was running as well ,that was in 1978 till 1980s,then the sign advert panel got pulled down ,and all the land was rebuilt on for the metro
Hi all the video was very good and pretty accurate , i was born and bred at 32 Clifton Road Aston in 1952 and we had back to backs down the entry behind us they were grim but people managed even without hot running water no central heating just one outside toilet and a tin bath, there was no mould in the house because it was too cold for it to live but even with all the poverty people had pride in their houses polishing the steps and sweeping up , it seems to me nowadays people have everything but won,t clean up and don,t have pride in their homes or cars . Raz
Hello Raz Ullah for your feedback 🙂 I really appreciate it.
i used to live near the h.p sauce and police station ,rocky road and aston brooke green next to the underpass back in the 80s they were tiny houses as well
These days they have no respect for anything or anybody
@Paxanglorumenrichment! Enrichment nooner asked for 😬
Did you know Ozzy Osborne? Lol
My mother used to boil our clothes and then put them through a mangle. She dried them on a washing line. Frequently, if it rained she would have to take everything inside and then put it out again when the rain stopped. She did this until the mid 1960s at which time she got her first washing machine and spin dryer.
Exactly the same for my mom.
Sounds like my nana...her and Granda had no inside water / toilet or bath .....we kids used to go down the the back yard and fill the enamel bucket up from the tap on the back wall ..... outside toilet /tin bath /washhouse (for clothes) air raid shelter got converted into a greenhouse after ww2 ......beautifully clean warm brick cottage.....lived there until 1972....south wick Sunderland Co Durham (as was)....
In the Uk and Ireland there were twin tubs after the mangle. Actually clothes dryers didn’t come in for years!
My mom washed everything by hand back in the 70s as she couldn't afford a washing machine. Big overalls of my dad's, sheets , big towels, blankets, you name it she got everything looking clean and bright.
@@fmcm7715 there was a kind of electric I think heated thingy for drying clothes in if the weather was desperately bad and you could not get the last damp out of things. It was called a Flatley. I inherited an ancient one in 1978 which was rather cold. I bought my first twin tub from the MEB a year later, older women had been using them for years. Launderettes became a thing in the late 50’s but people living in back to backs rarely used them. It was a thing of prided to get that spotless line of whites out….
My Grandmother lived in 2/93 Mansfield road.We visited her in the 1950 and 1960 Those houses have been pulled down!
That's bloody luxury, my parent's house (mother from India father from Pakistan). We had 2 up 1 down (single room over passage). Living room/kitchen dining. Older sister and I in single room, and parents in bigger bedroom later younger sister in 1972. Coal shed and adjoining Toilet shared by 4 families! Basically a plank with a hole in it! Yes in 1969! Stone floor in kitchen ceiling joists no plastered ceiling. Heater/with stove top. Manual washing machine with mangle. So I know slum living!
Bless ❤ hope you're all more cosy now....
The windows and green paint is so charming!
We bought a one up one down in 1991ish..it stood on a piece of land and had no other land with it at all. The living room and kitchen were combined with no back door and upstairs a tiny bedroom and a tiny bathroom had been put in and it was warmed with a fire downstairs. It was described as charming by the estate agent.it was certainly cosy 😆. I had it for about 3 years and then moved onto a bigger house but it helped get us on the property ladder and was all we could afford at the time x it was really tiny
I slept in a drawer on a visit to grandparents in Wolverhampton 1946. My mum told me that many years ago.
They put me in a drawer as a cot when I was a baby too
@@Ihfmpw8this happened at my nanas when my baby nephew was babysittered if that's a word....😊....the drawer was removed from the chest thing of course 👍🏻...
There are still plenty of back to backs still left in Birmingham, they just have indoor loos in their kitchen/ bathroom extensions now. Most of which date back to the 70s. Fifty years ago! 😊
Do you actually know what a back to back house is. apprently not.
@@peterwilliamallen1063, yes lived in one myself for a number of years and could easily take you on a tour of places where they still exist. Some of them are in streets and adjacent to areas with far larger homes with gardens some of them are not and have only the tiniest of yards out back and are served by very narrow alleys. The housing density of the latter would be illegal now to build. I know of back to backs that had no toilets at all when built, but has to share outside facilities at the end of the street. They still exist, but with extensions as my first post stated. Mostly two up two downs, with a parlour and all purpose kitchen/living room downstairs, and one bedroom and a balcony room the latter for children no matter how many. Most with front doors that open onto the street. I remember women scrubbing the front door steps and the washing lines between the building. Some in my constituency were pulled down in the 60s, but many still exist in other parts of the city.
@@lindyashford7744 As a Brummie I do believe you are living in fairy land as all Back to Back houses were eleiminated from Birmingham in the early 1970's, I worked as n apprentice Gas Fitter and latter a Gas Engineer and went in these houses to retrieve the gas meters before demolision and the last area they were removed from were Aston/ Lozells and these in Hurst Street are the only back to back slums owned by the National Trust in Birmingham. A Back to Back House is as it is called small badly built houses backing on to one another with a communial yard with shared toilet blocks in it and the hoses would have one parlour, a small kitchen and may be two bedrooms, what are left in Birmingham are ols terraced Houses in the inner City areas but these are not back to back houses
There are many back to back houses across the country, but the museum in Birmingham is the only remaining courtyard
@@lindyashford7744 All Back to Back houses exept those now owned as a Museum in Hurst Street in Birmingham City Centre were demolished in the early 1970's, I know that as I was a 17 year old pprentice Gas Fitter with the West Midlands Gas Bord and had the job of removing the Gas Meters from them before they were demolished into History
There's still more back to backs in lozells in Birmingham I lived in one in the 1990s nice and cosy it was two unusual because it was double fronted..two rooms down one bed and a bathroom upstairs 😊..what a lovely video thanks for sharing with us all 🙏😁
Really? Which road in Lozells? I will definitely have a look. Thanks for watching.
It was near charleville road off the Soho rd ..i think it was wellington terrace I'm sorry it's a long time ago but it was a lovely little place and I may visit and make a Tiktok about it one day hopefully I still live in Birmingham
Also if you had your back to the Soho rd .. walked down charleville road..turn left ..there was a pub on a corner...on the left ..but over the road in the pavement....turn left..and it was the next street on the right...walk along that and there was a square arrangement of little old houses. On the right it was lovely..and very quiet at night time
Thank you very much, I will have a look at it 🙂
When we stayed with Grandma at 2/93 Mansfield rd Birchfield...we had to go to school so my Mother walked us to the Lozels where we walked on our own to St Mary's Convent....meanwhile my Aunty Olivia lived in a house right on the main rd.in Lozels....
I was born in a back to back in Arthur Street Small Heath in 1952.
When we moved to the new housing estate of Kingshurst 7 miles away in 1957 it was like moving to the country!
Small Heath has always been regarded with fond memories as the "Old End"!
It is an entry, not a tunnel!
This was so so interesting, can’t wait to watch your next one. 🐞
1 back of 78 Goodrick st nechells that was my grandads place ! I’m 70 now but can still remember my visits there ! Your video brought back lots of memories ! Good job ! Don’t know why I can still remember the address
Hello Reg Stokes, I am pleased my video brought back happy memories. Thank you very much for watching 🙂
What a lovely and well produced film.
Thank you and regards from London
Hi Joseline, I watched this video this morning and found it to be a fascinating look at this often forgotten part of Birmingham history. Congrats on a well researched and educational piece.
Thank you Everton, I'm glad you like the video. Have a lovely Sunday 🙂
@@citiesthroughmyeyes it’s not a tunnel it’s called an entry , you are correct you do not know what you are talking about , I suggest you do your research,
Did anyone know Betty Green, I think she was involved with the opening of the back to back houses . She was a wonderful lady, I knew her way back.I have been searching for the footage of her telling the story of how she lived in the back to back house. If anyone can help me find, it would be fantastic to see her face again. Rest in peace Betty, you were such a lovely lady to have known .
As a small child, I used to love feeding the clothes through a mangle when I stayed at my Grandma's house. She had a big copper in her washhouse, and her clothes used to look snow white and very well washed.
I fed my fingers through a mangle when I was
A small. Child….it was painfull.
@@Ihfmpw8 Awww - this must have been so awful.
I remember c1971 enjoying feeding the clothes through the mangle in the garden 😮. Always a tad scared of the rollers and what they could do to my hand!!! Grief I now feel very old 😂
People are shocked they returned from war to live in poverty. In Canada indigenous soldiers were sent back to the reserve abd lived in abject poverty and not acknowledged for war efforts untill well into the 1990s. In the states the black soldiers were once again forced to use black only bathrooms etc. it’s unbelievable really.
You state that 100% correctly! The UK had an empire back then. Where did all the money go?
Very well made and very informative and professional. Respect 😊
Hello Abu Ismail 99, thank you for watching the video. I'm glad you liked it 🙂
We are here to support all of you....• I wish you more success in your work, friends......
Thank you for your support BIJIH ALAM, it is much appreciated.
I love social history. My grand parents had to live and work in such nieghbourhoods and with such washing techniques. They are realalistic in thier attitudes back then. I could not survive without my washing machine personally. Thank you for sharing tis interesting video.
There are thousands of back to backs still occupied in West Yorkshire - Leeds, Bradford, Halifax etc. Great Yarmouth had houses of this style as early as the 15th century, but they were called Row houses, not back to backs.
To go to war for king and country, and come home to live in this poverty? WTF!
Yes!
Imagine coming home from a devastating war that nearly bankrupted the country and destroyed untold numbers of homes and not finding a mansion waiting for you to move into with all the modern conveniences!
In their day these were cosy homes more spacious than you would think better than some of the cardboard mould ridden rabbit hutches slapped up today......
That's why they're built all those terrorist houses in the 1920s because the cat was out of the bag by that point and the king and the establishment had to repay the British public Think of all the council housing built pre Second World War If they wouldn't have done this they would have been a revolution
@@azillliasmith2734 Those 'cosy' homes often had families of 8+ kids living in them, how much space would you have had?
That was excellent! Thanks 😊
Thank you very much for watching 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Excellent video again, Joseline! Well done, very enjoyable watching
Hello Zappababe, thank you for your positive feedback. I really appreciate it 🙂
We still have loads of back to backs in Yorkshire. I live in one myself
Don't live in one anymore but I loved my back to back in Leeds 🦉🦉😊 lovely warm little home👍🏻
Excellent video, 👍 and the story of how these squalid, fetid, pestilential slums can be remade into these cute little jewel boxes for 1 or 2 people! But as this row on Hurst Street took about £250k per back-to-back house, the 1970 municipal estimate of just £30 sterling per unit to bring them up to code sounds downright ludicrous!
Hello Edward, sorry for the late reply. I need to up my game when it comes to replying to comments back-to back (sorry 😉). Thank you for watching the video, I'm glad you liked it. I wish I could live in one of those back-to-backs. If it wasn't for the long lease of the tailor, Hurst St last surviving back-to-backs would have been long gone...
Thankyou.this is wonderful.i was blessed with two parents working.we were latchkey kids.
I remember taking my son when he was very young to see the back to backs as i missed a college trip. So had to make my own arrangements to see it. My son embarassed me no end. He was touching everything. Then he was trying on some clothes that were on the beds. Oh my life!!!. The guide was absolutely lovely and the other people visiting. He only behaved after getting sweets from the old shop. But its a beautiful place to visit.
I lived in one up one down back to back . There's thousands to back to back in bradford still being used the tunnel are called ginels or ginells in bradford. The old maid was called a poster where I lived
I remember that when it was a Takeaway restaurant in the 90s
We had a mangle for ages. My mum and her neighbour in the late 50s used to rent a washing machine between them, Mondays were wash days starting with the whites and then onto the darker wash. I remember the washing lines full of billowing laundry. My Nan had a scullery and a pantry. The floor in the pantry was slate to keep it cool and a shelf of slate to put your meat and diary on. My mum and dad used a draw as a cot for me when I was brought home from hospital as my brother was still in the cot as they couldn’t afford a new bed for him, but, it was only for a short time. I used to share these memories with my students who used to look at me as if I lived in the dark ages so, I had to explain this wasn’t that long ago as the Country was recovering from WWII and rationing went on for some considerable time. The vlog is very informative.
Really enjoyable and what a beautiful accent you have. 😊
Thank you 😊
I used to help my Aunty pull the sheets through a electric mangle and them she hung them on wooded bars and pull them up to the ceiling to dry in the winter
So long before anything done for these poor people. Shame.
Really well done video. Very interesting, thanks!
Thanks a lot for watching the video. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thanks so much for putting that together it was really interesting
Hello Joanne Helen Ascough, I apologise for the delay in replying to you. Thank you for watching the video, I'm glad you liked it. Take care 🙂
I still live in my grandma's house , back to back, one bedroom, living room/dining room, larder, still has the cold tap (hidden behind wall now) I used to help my gran use the mangle in cellar. We had a top load hotpoint washer, 2 buttons, on and off. you had to use a bucket or 3 of water to load it. my gran used a big piece of wood to stir the the washing powder to the hot water before putting the round lid on switching it on. The only thing thats changed since is the update in decor. We had black and white tv, and the first people on our street who got a colour tv everyone was invited to their house to watch it. It was magic. Unfortunately its nothing like is it now But at least ive still got memories. I loved it.
Much better to do washing by hand, no electricity consumption, good exercise & got the clothes cleaner than an automatic washing machine. Also it was very common for babies to sleep in a drawer. I was born in the 60’s & my brother in the late 40’s & we would both sleep in a drawer as small babies.
What exactly is wrong with consuming electricity? They are, after all, trying to turn all cars into electric ones! Electric bicycles are the rage. So pray tell, why wouldn't I use a washing machine to wash my clothes?
Washing by hand is fine if you have all day to do your washing and drying, most modern families do not have the time to do that. My grandmother was thrilled in the 60's when she moved into a modern flat with electricity, plumbing, indoor toilet and a kitchen.
Nice video and some good archive footage ! Did the tour some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it !
Hello Mark Lucas, thank you for watching the video. I'm glad you enjoyed it. The tour is really worth it.
@@citiesthroughmyeyes My Mother was brought up in a back to back house in Hockley in the 30s . She always told me how life was then .
@@citiesthroughmyeyes When you said the buckets got emptied by dustmen that smelt terrible, was it the buckets or the dustmen that smelt terrible ?
precious ❤
seven kids, and the one she is holding is wielding a sodding screwdriver 😬
In 1973 I went to South Korea to live in a small town near to Camp Stanley where my husband was stationed. I washed my clothes like all the other Korean women. As a matter of fact they taught me. I had a big rubber basin and a wash board. I hung up my clothes to dry. That clothes came out bright and spotless.
What a lovely video, thanks Joseline. This was so interesting and your videos are very professionally made. Well done!
Hello Ann, I don't know what happened but I missed a couple of comments including yours. Sorry 😢Thanks a lot for watching this video, I'm glad you enjoy watching my content.Take care!
A very nice overview of the Back to Backs. I never got to go there - maybe next visit to Brum!
Thank you Chris 🙂 I definitely recommend you to pay the Back-to-backs a visit. It is worth it. They were supposed to be demolished (the last ones in Bham) but George Saunders, the tailor, had a long lease until 2001. In the meantime the National Trust was able to save the Court.
Such an interesting video. Loved it x
Thank you very much for watching the video. I'm glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I had a problem understanding you; had to use subtitles.
Please show this to any budding young mum/dad today and tell them you had to pay for yourself and your kids. I'm sure they will go " Whaaat!" .
Yeah things improve unless you think people should live like this again
I was born in a back to back house in Clark street, Ladywood in 1961
People of this country survived all this and worked to a better standard of living, through hard work, we are being dragged back now by people who can’t be arsed to improve their iwn country to a better standard, but they are happy to come here and drop our standards.
that kid had a screwdriver and a plug and was waving it in his mums face near her eyes. lol.
My cousin lives in a back to back terraced house in Lancashire. They still exist. A one up, two down. They do have an inside loo and bathroom of course.
Really interesting .
Thank you Time Of the year 🙂
My mum was put in a draw asxa babes and that was the 1960 in Glasgow
The little boy who drank that dirty water! So sad.
An excellent production Joseline, well done. To anyone curious book a visit, I've been twice and really enjoyed both times.
Thank you for watching Ken Stevens 🙂 I really appreciate
I think what you called a "tunnel" was called an "entry". Correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes you are right 🙂 I used the word 'tunnel' because the entry looks like a tunnel when you walk inside it.
Yes, we called them 'entry' too. I was born and brought up in Sparkhill, and there was a similar entry for our house and our neighbour. However, these were not back to back, they were relatively middle class houses in Phipson Road.
What heppened to your Broad Street night walks? I enjoyed them. Be good to see another one soon.
I'm surprised that they were still occupied in 2001.
Hello, just the tailoring shop because the owner had a long lease. And that’s why the Council couldn’t demolish Court 15. And that gave enough time for Conservation groups to protect the last back-to-backs from city planners
"Peaky Blinders"? Interesting. Good Vid.
I was born in one of those houses in Alexander street we moved to druids heath estate when I was 3 in 1968
Some houses that are built today living room kitchen and the dining room open plan they call it, they’ve gone backwards in their design, not improved match.
Good job
Thank you Usama Sandhu, your comment means a lot 🙂
We lived in identical house in the 60’s, Taylor St.
Thanks for watching the video 🙂 Do you miss that house?
@@citiesthroughmyeyes Our neighbour there was unfortunate to have her daughter and son in law to be the first people killed in a road accident on the newly opened M1.
The stairway had a door with a lock on the living room side, we were burgled by two people who got in through the outside cellar and they clocked us all upstairs and raided all the coins from the gas meter. No telephones then, dad was working nights and mom was awake but could do nothing.
The Police found them later and said the culprits were armed with knives and it was a good job they locked the door in a way.
Wow! That must have been a traumatic experience. I've never had someone breaking into my house. Burglars tend to be extremely violent...The Police is right, it's a good thing they locked the door...
I am doing a project: Brummies Childhood Memories. Basically it's a Brummie only project in which people would recall their childhood memories on a wide range of subjects (school, neighbourhood, hobbies, anecdotes, etc.) and I will add the audio as a voice-over for my walking tours. Would you want to share more of your childhood memories with us?
Loved watching that! I want to try and visit. I was opposite in wetherspoons last month and I didnt even notice!
I really recommend this tour. I think the tour was over 2 hrs. The guide was very knowledgeable & funny.
@@citiesthroughmyeyes thank you for the info! 😍 some of my ancestors lived in similar style houses in Worcester. It’s good to see how the houses may have looked.
Does anyone recall Tower Court in this area?
Of course (as the end of this video shows) there is absolutley nothing wrong with back-to-backs in principle any more than side-to-sides. The issues they had were: the poor quality of the construction, inadequate drainage and sewerage, damp, over-crowding and the habits of some of the occupants. I like the idea that they were not properly ventilated given that now modern flats and houses are made almost air-tight to reach today's standards and, if the occupants aren't careful, fantastic places for mold to grow.
Great job, young mademoiselle!
Thank you 🙂
She was ahead of her time with the "maid" re: global warming :)
“ White Privelige”
🙉🙈🙊
"When the piggy bank was full of coins you took it to the bank and put it in your account".
Highly unlikely as the poor didn't have bank accounts.
Probably a post office account rather than a bank account.
I used to live in a back house in Watery lane when I was about 12.we had no bathroom, we had a sink at the top of the cellar stairs and hah to have a wash there,so did mum and dad. (Not all at once)ha ha.
I lived in watery lane as a child as well I remember a wash house at the top of the court yard and we had to climb a wall at the back of court yard to get to the park
I also went to St Andrews school I am 64 now but I remember it so well
What are you talking about 'Festivities 'in the backyard
NASTY INTERVIEWER BELITTLING SNIDE REMARKS
23:54 😮😮😮😮
Levy family from Eastern Europe means Jewish refugess. Call it what it is! Watch making was one of the typical occupations of the Jews... not to mention jewellery makers, goldsmiths etc.
My grandma was a Jewess,she was Ansell
We need these i hate how they convert them.all.could sell or rent as film sets
And they just kept Having Baby after baby after baby! My God , how did thodevWomen NOT see how irresponsible to keep having baby's was? No wonder you would live in poverty.
The UK series "Call the Midwife" doesn't even Scratch the surface on how horrible life was even past the Q980s. Desirable government response for the poor! But All Governments in All Countrys do the same thing. Poor people are tho be ignored.😢
There was no reliable, affordable birth control back then, especially if they were catholics.
Not exactly the fault of the women….
Wery nise Howse 👍
Congratulations on your video "Inside Birmingham's Last Surviving Back-Back Houses 50-54 Inge Street And 55-63 Hurst Street | England April 2022" inspirational thanks for sharing proverty toilets inside. 🧺❤️🤍💙
Happiness isn’t where you live it’s having good & loving family & friends🙋🏻♀️🇬🇧
Where you live might not be that important, but how you live is. Life can be awfully hard without basic amenities. People had shorter lives and were less healthy. If trickle down economics worked, all the mine, factory, land workers of the past would have been wealthy.
@@annepoitrineau5650 people had the amenities they were just different not everybody lived in💩 in the old days...a new build can be a slum if it's not looked after....
@@azillliasmith2734 And that one too. Life in Manchester was also quite dire. There were bosses (quakers mostly) looking after their employees, but most were not. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Labour_and_the_London_Poor
@@annepoitrineau5650yes interesting wiki post..... of course there was not one overall condition for the entire population at any one time.....and some industrialists built villages for their workforce to a good standard........many worked well when they were being used the way they were designed to be used.......only became slums when they became overcrowded and had no proper upkeep or repairs....Leeds was another industrial town that built thousands of back to backs and some to a very poor standard...... the city continued to build this type of "dwelling" long after an act was past in parliament banning them .....interestingly there are thousands still standing being used as homes and going for a good price.....
Can't help thinking of some of the new build with bedrooms that aren't big enough to get a wardrobe in and kitchens too small to open the fridge freezer door unless the kitchen door is shut....no where to air clothes....of course they are not all that bad...
@@annepoitrineau5650 thank you Anne, that link was very interesting 😁
My mum was put in a draw asxa babes and that was the 1960 in Glasgow
I lived in a back to back in Leeds in 2015, there's thousands of them there, nothing unusual.
Yeah we had one when we were first married some surprisingly spacious inside often with a a cellar with a door with windows on both sides opening to a space where the bin lived (before wheelies) and an outside toilet and steps leading up to the garden ....great "little" home homes and brilliant community Spirit...those that had no gardens would put paddling pools on the pavement for the kids in the summer no bother really nice kind atmosphere ......my kids loved living there....😊
Millions of British houses still have unlit entries. My first house was a terrace from the 1930s and had one.
Can't believe people lived like that in those days. It was only in the previous century and in the middle of England. The British empire wealth was not seen there...
I can't wait for future generations to look around an 80s house - oooo look at that - tapes, records, massive box television and VHS recorder.
I visited this place, having seen it's opening on the BBC TV news. Having been born in Brum, and lived in 8 different house styles, newish to Victorian Terrace, but not Back to back. Facinated, I drove up from the West country. Having just started my Family Tree research. I discovered a great aunt had lived near by to Inge St. In the Courtyard, It was very interesting, but reminded me of a miniture prison Yard. The communal Toilet looked a lot cleaner than I think it would be in reality, obviously.
I spent my early years in the 1950’s in a back to back house in Barford Street. This video brought back many poignant memories.
Commentary hard to interpret, mispronouncing words and heavy accent. Brenda
Great work
I enjoyed this totally professional production
Thank you so much for your comment. I’m happy to know you enjoyed the video.
I waa raised in back-to-back house. Outside privy shared with another family. End of garden. Ground floor, 1 room stone flag floor, one electrical socket one light hung from ceiling joist. There were never a plastered ceilings. Wooden Stairs to back of room with tongue & groove boarding. My parents bedroom neighbouring bedroom above passageway lino floor large frame bed shared by me and sister I was 6 sister being 10. My youngest sister in cot in parent's bedroom. So 1 socket each room. Metal wc pan under bed.
So I'm 57, moved out of back to back in 1971 into a very large end terrace house. Still shared bedroom with older sister. Attic bedroom was rented out, basement room had it's own toilet and separate kitchen. Also rented out. My parents bought a very large house and rented out the mentioned. It was a massive upscale move. 4 bedroom house with first floor 1930s bathroom. Living room, drawing room, kitchen and huge hallway. Whilst in back to back, row of houses across road demolished. Eventually become social housing and flats.
It was a very interesting read Mohammed Nadeem Anwar. Thanks for sharing
i love this Glad they kept this to show
Just sent my daughter a text to watch this video. She'll be flabbergasted to see where her mum lived in the 1950s. To be honest I only have fond memories of these times. My mom was very house proud and spotless. Our kitchen was only big enough for a sink and a cooker, where mom used to boil the white laundry and rinse and wring everything by hand. People used to talk to each other in those days. Wasn't until the moors murders that children were told not to talk to strangers.
Our kitchen was a 'scullery'
@@stevebuckley2429 we called it a kitchen even though it wasn't big enough to swing a mouse. A sink ,draining board and cooker. No work surfaces. We kept coal in the cellar. Folks next door kept chickens down there
I don’t want to glamourise living in the back to backs which is what I did in the ‘50’s and 1960s, however, when you look at the ‘modernisation’ of Hurst Street , including the ‘upgraded’ Hippodrome, it looks awful. Even comparing your video at the beginning showing 1985 run down Victorian frontages, they look more lovely to me than that which replaced it. Even the street lighting is awful. Thank you 1:53 1:53
1:53 National trust for returning this court 15 to its original beauty.
Really enjoyed that, thanks very much for doing it.
My nan lived in a back-to-back in Birmingham when she was a child, and I took her here in around 2008. She loved it.
My nan passed away a few days ago, and your video was a great reminder of the lovely day out we had.
I'm glad it brought back positive memories 🙂 My condolences for your loss.
@@citiesthroughmyeyes thank you very much.
My Nan grew up in a back-to-back house with a communal yard. She had to share a bed with her three sisters! She told me at the weekend, they had what they called "gypsy parties", dragged the piano out into the yard and had a sing-song!
@zappababe8577 having to share a bed with 3 siblings sounds like a lot of people's experience back then!
I bet the sing-song was one of the highlights of the week.
I'm really glad the last few back-to-back houses in Birmingham were saved from demolition and people get to see what life was like for so many working-class people.
Yes the tower blocks that replaced this kind of housing caused people to be isolated and there was no community spirit.
My grandmother was thrilled to move into a high rise flat in the 60's, it had a kitchen with hot and cold water and an inside toilet, she thought it was wonderful. She did not miss her 3 tiny cold, damp rooms at all, certainly not the outside toilet and rats.
I was raised in Lower Essex Street in 1956 ..... Just around the corner from these houses . A true and proper Brummie . 👍🏴
My Nan was born in Summer Lane in a back to back terrace
Wow a white British family in Birmingham
We are becoming as rare as the back to backs these days 😢😅.
By the way I lived in one of these in the 60s.
There are plenty of white families in Birmingham. Whole areas of them in fact. Large areas. With multigenerational white British families.
there was a row of back to backs on the side road of st pauls snowhill was blocked in by a big advert wood panel,a few folks used to squat in 2 of them ,there was 6 houses ,,3 of them were gutted to get the other 2 liveable in ,and a rigged electric cable from the sign lamp to get power ,water was running as well ,that was in 1978 till 1980s,then the sign advert panel got pulled down ,and all the land was rebuilt on for the metro