The Flickr Councilhouses Image Generatr

TalkPhotography.co.uk Digital Photographer fo The Year (DPOTY) 2025 Month 05 - Man-Made

Like many other British local government authorities the County Borough of Oldham had turned to the specialist publisher Burrow's of Cheltenham to compile the town's Official Handbook. The book, a slightly thin volume in comparison with others, can be dated by the figures for the rateable value accrued to the town's Sewage undertaking.

One of the council's most pressing needs, especially in the post-WW2 period, was the issue of housing and especially the condition of the many houses thrown up during the Industrial Revolution; Oldham was one of the children of the growth of the Cotton Industry during the 19th Century and this left behind a legacy of slum dwellings in insanitary conditions. Like many other councils the construction of council or social housing was begun in the inter-war period with both 'greenfield' sites as well as clearance and reconstruction of some inner town areas. In the late '40s and 1950s this need for new housing increased and Oldham constructed several new estates on sites towards the edge of the existing build up area - an issue that, even in a relatively small borough such as Oldham, often led to such estates feeling isolated from existing social networks, shopping and employment. Here we see houses at Oban Avenue in Derker and Wildbrook Crescent in Fitton Hill. I bet the photographer was not impressed with that dog in Fitton Hill even if it did stand still.

It contains the usual mix of details about the civic administration of the borough, its businesses and amenities. The front cover is the tried and tested use of the County Borough's coat of arms resplendent with its four owls.

An interesting booklet issued in 1964 - 65 by the City of Bimringham's Housing Management Committee for their municipal tenants. At the time of publication the Department was responsible for 140,000 homes and was also dealing with the requests for housing from 47,000 people. It includes details of the various rules and regulations enforced for tenants as well as services provided by the City Council and various suppliers.

The foreword, by the Chairman of the Committee, gives an interesting background to the work of the Department and the context in which it took place. Of interest here is the list of towns on the "Overspill Housing Register" showing local authorities with which Birmingham had arrangements to relocate people on the city's housing list. Two locations are linked to the disperal of industries programme that was championed by central Government at the time. Several of the towns were designated as 'expanded towns' such as Daventry and Dawley had been designated as a New Town, known as Telford, in 1963. Redditch, in Worcestershire, was also formally designated aa a New Town in 1964.

The following page is an advert for the Birmingham City Police.

An interesting booklet issued in 1964 - 65 by the City of Bimringham's Housing Management Committee for their municipal tenants. At the time of publication the Department was responsible for 140,000 homes and was also dealing with the requests for housing from 47,000 people. It includes details of the various rules and regulations enforced for tenants as well as services provided by the City Council and various suppliers.

The foreword, by the Chairman of the Committee, gives an interesting background to the work of the Department and the context in which it took place. Specifically it describes slum clearance programmes and the scheme of 'reconditioning' that Birmingham City Council chose to help allieviate the critical need for new homes.

An interesting booklet issued in 1964 - 65 by the City of Bimringham's Housing Management Committee for their municipal tenants. At the time of publication the Department was responsible for 140,000 homes and was also dealing with the requests for housing from 47,000 people. It includes details of the various rules and regulations enforced for tenants as well as services provided by the City Council and various suppliers.

In 1953, for the first time since 1922, Crittall Manufacturing issued a general catalogue and description of their works, processes and products. It is a glorious volume, at 22 pages, and was designed for them by John Lewis and printed at the noted works of W. S. Cowell in Norwich. In many ways it echoes the fine contemporary catalogues of their rivals, Henry Hope's of Smethwick, with whom they would eventually merge in 1965 bringing together their expertise and markets in windows and associated building ironmongery. Crittall's had their origins in the Essex town of Braintree in 1849 and began to manufacture windows in 1884. They jointly purchased the important German Fenestra patent in 1907 and the following year became established in the US market. After WW1 the company began to manufacture "standard" metal windows, to standardised dimensions as as house building increased, along with a more streamlined aesthetic that favoured minimal steel windows in the 1930s, the company expanded. By 1953 they had manufacturing plants in Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Silver End, Paisley and Colwick as well as works in Darlington. They also had overseas plants in Auckland, Dublin, Dunedin, Düsseldorf, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Port Elizabeth, Salisbury, Toronto and Waukesha.

The catalogue is lavishly illustrated with examples of their products installed since WW2 across a variety of buildings including housing, commercial and industrial structures both in the UK and abroad. This page shows four examples of the "Easiform" houses constructed by John Laing & Son Ltd. The "Easiform" method of construction was first used in 1919 as part of the then post-war drive to build 'homes for heroes' and over the years various refinements to the method were developed; in post-WW2 years, with the pressing need for home construction, the method, that involved solid concrete walls poured in-situ, along with many other proprietary construction methods used in an effort to both increase production and lower unit costs was used extensively. Here estates in Bristol, Oxford, Plymouth and Gosport can be seen.

Despite various claims for steel framed windows, notably that they did not warp like timber frames nor, if works treated and zinc plated they required less painting, the windows did have drawbacks; most notably in the form of issues around heat loss and condensation and very few 'originals' are now to be found. Later generations of steel framed windows, still manufactured by Crittall, are effectively double glazed units and have overcome many of the original failings.

In 1953, for the first time since 1922, Crittall Manufacturing issued a general catalogue and description of their works, processes and products. It is a glorious volume, at 22 pages, and was designed for them by John Lewis and printed at the noted works of W. S. Cowell in Norwich. In many ways it echoes the fine contemporary catalogues of their rivals, Henry Hope's of Smethwick, with whom they would eventually merge in 1965 bringing together their expertise and markets in windows and associated building ironmongery. Crittall's had their origins in the Essex town of Braintree in 1849 and began to manufacture windows in 1884. They jointly purchased the important German Fenestra patent in 1907 and the following year became established in the US market. After WW1 the company began to manufacture "standard" metal windows, to standardised dimensions as as house building increased, along with a more streamlined aesthetic that favoured minimal steel windows in the 1930s, the company expanded. By 1953 they had manufacturing plants in Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Silver End, Paisley and Colwick as well as works in Darlington. They also had overseas plants in Auckland, Dublin, Dunedin, Düsseldorf, Johannesburg, Melbourn, Port Elizabeth, Salisbury, Toronto and Waukesha.

The catalogue is lavishly illustrated with examples of their products installed since WW2 across a variety of buildings including housing, commercial and industrial structures both in the UK and abroad. Galvanised "Z" type steel windows had been introduced to meet a demand for more generous windows sizes and they are seen here on two council schemes; the Inch scheme, designed by Stratton Davis & Yates, architects, for the City of Edinburgh. Inch was one of many large 1950s/1960s schemes undertaken by the city at the time. The second is for the Newton Aycliffe Development Corporation, one of the UK's "New Towns" and shows properties designed by Matt. C. Robson and Son, architects.

Despite various claims for steel framed windows, notably that they did not warp like timber frames nor, if works treated and zinc plated they required less painting, the windows did have drawbacks; most notably in the form of issues around heat loss and condensation and very few 'originals' are now to be found. Later generations of steel framed windows, still manufactured by Crittall, are effectively double glazed units and have overcome many of the original failings.

The Wimpey "No-Fines" aggregate construction method of house building was one of various 'experimental' methods that came into vogue in post-WW2 Britain in an attempt to improve both the rate and cost of construction in a country that was suffering from austerity, compounded by issues such as skills and materials shortages. The hosuing crisis was acute with a backlog of slum clearance, primarily in older Victorian towns and cities, of wartime damage and a feeling that citizens deserved brighter, cleaner homes in new, more healthy surroundings.

The advert clearly demonstrates the process of the Wimpey system that was built to utilise a Ministry of Supply specification and built on the comapny's experience of similar 'clinker' construction in inter-war period. Many thousands of Wimpey "No-Fines" still stand.

Wimpey were one of the UK's largest construction companies, formed originally in 1880, primarily as a road contractor, and acquired in 1919 by Godfrey Mitchell who expanded the company into construction and housing. The company merged with Taylor Woodrow in 2007.

The rather lavish hardback "Official Handbook and Industrial Review" issued by the Corporation in 1968, arguably at the height of the municipally driven redevelopment that saw major changes to much of the city, especially in connection with comprehensive redevelopment areas, slum clearances and road construction.

An advert for Reema construction company and showing a plaque, probably in one of the properties they had constructed for the Corporation of Glasgow, noting the 150,000th lettable municipal property and that was unveiled by the then Prime Minister, Labour's Harold Wilson on 19 April 1968. It gives an indication of the scale of municipal social housing, or 'council housing', undertaken by the City Council that was reputed to be one of the largest 'landlords' in Western Europe. I believe the home was in Balgrayhill, Springburn. I wonder if it is still there.

Ashgrove Gardens, Whitchurch, Bucks. 12/08/2005.

No's 11 & 12Ashgrove Gardens, Whitchurch, Bucks. 12/08/2005. Just shows that Council Houses don't have to look dowdy. ( Social Housing )

"Volkswohnungen" für kinderreiche Familien hieß das, von der NSDAP gebaut. Damals schon das billigste vom billigen. Jetzt sind die Häuser so marode, dass sie abgerissen werden und durch Neubauten ersetzt.
Den Namen Maikäfersiedlung entstand, weil da so viele Kinder rumwuselten, wie eine Maikäferplage. Sowas gibt's ja heute auch nicht mehr.
War nicht die feinste Adresse, wie man sich leicht ausrechnen kann...