I have long been interested in Social History as well as Military History so I hope you do not mind me sharing this here as a blog post.
I posted here recently about the flats in Southwark SE London where research showed that I was living in 1962 then aged 4 in Cromwell Buildings, Redcross way, Borough. I have been fascinated by the history of the buildings for many years having learned that the block had been built in 1864 by The Improved Industrial Dwelling Company based upon a design displayed in the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park in 1851 and attributed to Prince Albert although in fact he commission the design based upon his ideas. The design was for small 'building block' type flats for the families of the 'Labouring Classes' complete with internal WC's, a rare thing back then as most dwellings still relied upon the outside privies often communal. I was delighted to find only recently an image of the original 'Model Dwellings' as it appeared at the exhibition thanks to a virtual tour on youtube so I grabbed a screen shot as seen below. A block of 4 such flats, each of 3 bedrooms, was built outside of the exhibition hall an image of which can be seen below along with the floor plan. A Scullery with sink and coal store along with 'Dust' shoot (refuse/waste) was also incorporated along with a larder/meat storage cupboard ventilated by air bricks. Cromwell Buildings consisted of 4 floors containing 8 flats with the central open stairway by which access was gained. The block is grade II listed and still occupied today and still, I am told- owned by the Local Authority. It is also worth noting that the block is just a stones throw from the famous Crossbones Burial Ground for Paupers ( Link) also in Redcross Way. These dwellings became the model for many thousands of Tenement Blocks across the Country as a means of solving Housing Shortages at a period when even large families occupied single rooms in multi occupancy houses.
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| Cromwell Buildings today, Grade II listed, I lived with my parents on the 3rd floor and played on the open roof garden!. |
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| Thank to the Virtual Tour of the Great Exhibition on YouTube I was able to see the original design upon which Cromwell Buildings was based, albeit less cell like! |
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| 4 flats stacked 2 above the other, open front central stairwell and internal WC's this building still exists in London today. |
An interesting history Lee, the block was clearly well ahead of its time. I was reading of a street history where 28 families shared the one outside loo! And there were big families in those days. My own father was the youmgest of thirteen and he had an older brother who went to school in girls boots …. And he was considered lucky because most of the other kids were barefoot! Today, one of my granddaughters, by comparison has rather an excess of footwear.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm. We do not have to look that far back to times when we were living harsh lives do we? I think one thing that struck me seeing the plans for these new model dwellings was the indoor WC and sewage pipes in 1863 when my wife and I first house built in 1898 was built with an outdoor WC (obviously one bedroom had been converted to a bathroom years later). My wife says I'm 'toilet obsessed', but I can't deny an interest in historical sanitary conditions :). I actually remember using an outdoor WC as a child and it was freezing cold. As for the overcrowding I know that even at the time of Jack the Ripper (Whitechapel Murders) late 1880's there was a terrible housing crisis and the growth of the 'Doss Houses'.
DeleteAll the best,
Lee
This is a great post Lee - it's good to follow up stuff like this from childhood. When I do it, I find it interesting but also quite comforting, since it proves I didn't imagine the whole thing!
DeleteCheers for that Tony, I'm enjoying the process. I knew the origin of the design was from the Great Exhibition of 1851 and was delighted to find the re created 'virtual' image although I had hoped for a photograph. Funny enough I'd long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace because my kids used to play on the ruins of the rebuilt building at Sydenham/Crystal Palace Park, most of the footprint is still there including the main steps, the aquarium tanks and many broken statues. I also learned that the CP football team was drawn from workers there and became a professional club later, wonderful!
DeleteAll good stuff,
Hope you are keeping well,
Lee.