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History of the English House
| George V succeeded Edward VI in 1911 and his reign saw the Golden Years of Britain punctuated by two wars, one in South Africa and a larger one in France/Belgium. The motor car and the aircraft for once seemed to have more importance than the building of houses, for the first time in many decades there was a slow down in house building. Welwyn became the second Garden city built between the two wars, and this period also saw the start of Council Housing. Another less attractive introduction to our architectural scene was the bungalow, an import from India which had been used in the 1800’s as an escape to the country or seaside for a modest investment, was produced in kit form for about £100, and this was offered to ex-servicemen with the added bonus of approximately half an acre of land. Most of these timber framed bungalows have either been built around or demolished to make way for modern homes. In the 20’s bungalows were also treated to an added extra room in the roof, thus becoming known as a chalet bungalow. Due to a shortage of money and labour after the first world war, new housing tended to be as ribbon development, thus avoiding the need for new roads. Some large estates were built using the ‘neighbourhood’ approach, an American idea of a community within a community. Wythenshaw, built by Manchester City Corporation, varied the concept slightly and sited the shops on the outskirts of the town, thus being able to link them to other shops later from a larger centre. Within this period of architecture lies one of the most distinctive but short lived style, that of ‘Art Deco’. The pottery of Clarisse Cliffe epitomizes the style, but few examples of domestic architecture are found, more of the furniture and ornaments have survived, many of which have been taken from the American way of life. Period Style Interiors guide from the BBC |
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| Bricks and Brass A great site for extra info on the history of the house, and especially for those period property owners. Period style Interiors guide from the BBC |
| The 30’s was a boom time for the semi-detached house with thousands being built around the country, and many sporting the familiar bay window. With the country getting back on its feet after the war, these were well constructed and with sensible garden sizes have altered little today. The growth of building society’s encouraged people for the first time to buy their own homes, this was something previously only achieved by the upper classes. Between 1932 and 1947 there were several major acts and legislation to provide planning and public health laws, but these were influenced by the garden city approach and land was beginning to become a premium. The 30’s also saw a distinctive influence in house design gained from the Arts and Craft movement. The rapid growth of Suburbia in many towns gave speculative builders the chance to experiment with quite unusual designs, some half timbered (Jacobethan), some half pebble-dash, others with tile-hanging and even weather-boarding. A more modern style was called the sun-trap or International Style, giving priority to receiving as much sunlight as possible via the curved windows. King George V died in 1936, Edward VIII took the helm for a short while before abdicating and leaving the job to his brother George VI. This was not an easy time, and for the six year period of the second world war more buildings were destroyed than erected. In the 1950’s we saw the high rise blocks of flats as a solution to land shortage and quick replacements of bombed out city areas. These were mixed with two and three story cheaply constructed maisonettes and terraces mainly constructed in concrete, which was readily available and required less skill than traditional building Truly this was not a time of great domestic architecture with money being the driving force, and with the baby boom of 1946 more and more homes were required. Several schemes of group housing layout were experimented by local authorities, the Radburn style gave a cul-de-sac approach, on-site garaging, communal front gardens with footpaths leading to community facilities including bus stops. |
| Parker Morris was commissioned to produce a report on the way housing should address the needs of the modern family. He concluded that there should be more living and circulation space mainly split into an area for quiet and leisure activity, and an area for eating, but the latter could be an enlargement of the kitchen. The room ‘saved for best’ was no longer considered essential, and the introduction of central heating meant that bedrooms could be used by children for other activities rather than just sleeping. With the ousting of the front parlour, the homeowner needed other ways of displaying his stature in life, and this became evident with the new car in front of the garage, or the foreign holiday just taken. Unfortunately architects lost sight of design and style and concentrated on producing houses at a very low cost, which also echoed the desires of local councils to produce low cost housing. This is perhaps one of our darkest times in housing, and apart from demolition , we are stuck with it. Today 85% of new homes are covered by a NHBC ( National House-Building Council ) warranty, with the general design and layouts being far more flexible, creativity and sense of 21st century style is at last making its mark. The modern home is more efficient, easier to maintain, but the only drawback is the size of plot is diminishing. |
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