16 minute read
Homes for heroes
Historic context of Excalibur
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“It was the spirit of, you know the post war, when you need to rebuild again together. So its like people all start from the same level. I think that made the scheme, as a social housing scheme, work even better. You see, it’s because people had to, to really forget, forget what happened and just … start again.” 13
Elisabeth Blanchet By modern housing standards, it is easy to question the residents’ attachment to their modest prefab dwellings and therefore one must examine the historic context within which they were built. In reference to Excalibur, this is particularly important as they were conceived out of a time of countrywide mourning for lost lives and a place to call home following the Second World War. Even before the Blitz, housing was ‘one of the most persistent social problems’ 14 in Britain. It was a time of two extremes with the middle class moving into large, luxurious housing in the suburbs and the working class living in cramped, squalid conditions in industrial city centres. Population growth, rapid urbanisation and increased immigration lead to the construction of ‘numerous sub-standard dwellings, often without careful planning’ 15 in order to quickly house the working class. Rents were high and salaries low meaning that several families would often share a single house in order to save money. This issue of overcrowded dwellings and extravagant rent was recognised by the government as a problem that needed immediate attention and ‘around 1.1 million new council homes were built in the twenty years following 1919, transforming the face of Britain and, in nearly all cases, immeasurably improving the lives of its working class.’ 16
Figure 35 Bomb damage in Lewisham
Figure 36 Slum housing in Providence Place, London, 1909
13 Elisabeth Blanchet, interview by author, London (via zoom), Wednesday 7th October 2020 (full interview pg. 60-66). 14 Chris Cook, The Routledge companion to Britain in the nineteenth century, 1815-1914, 1st edn (London, Routledge, 2005), pg. 119. 15 Nigel Scotland, Squires in the Slums: Settlements and Missions in Late-Victorian London, 1st edn (London, I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 2007) pg. 1. 16 John Boughton, Municipal Dreams: The Rise and Fall of Council Housing, 1st edn (London, Verso Books, 2018), pg. 29.
“…It just looked lovely, really lovely. Well, I’m very sentimental and I have very fond memories of that house.” 17
My grandmother, June Bromwich (nana)
17 June Bromwich, interview by author, London (via telephone), Saturday 31st October 2020 (full interview pg. 70-73). I spoke with my grandmother about her experience of growing up in various council properties to understand more about this time.
Born in 1941, 5 years before the construction of the Excalibur Estate, she lived for her first 7 years in a 3 bedroom council property which she shared with her parents, aunt and grandparents. This property had a been offered to her grandparents by the LCC, London County Council, in 1935 in order to move them out of an overcrowded house in Camden Town, in which they lived all in one room and shared the rest of the house with several other families. Once her father returned from service in the RAF they applied for a council house of their own as her grandparent’s house was no longer big enough for their growing family. The council visited the house to review their living conditions and then allocated them a property in Mill Hill. She speaks fondly of both houses, explaining that they were solid, well designed and well built properties that are still standing today.
Figure 37 (top left) Image of my grandmother’s garden at the council property she grew up in
Figure 38 (top right) Image of my great-great-grandmother and greatgreat-aunt outside the property
Figure 39 (bottom) Image of the council property itself
Figure 40 Gunner Hector Murdoch arrives home after over 4 years away at war. His wife and son didn’t know if he was dead or alive as he spent many years as a prisoner of war. The mid 20th century was a time of unprecedented growth for council housing and the welfare state. Whilst this began as a political response to the immediate need after the destruction of the Second World War, the government continued to provide housing for many years. ‘Council house building never fell below 150,000 per annum throughout the 1950s and remained in excess of 80,000 right through to the end of 1970s.’ 18 The social implications of the war and their effects on the general feeling of the population in the late 1940s and 50s also enabled the growth of the welfare state. The first residents of Excalibur (as well as those of many other social housing estates across the country) were returning war veterans or people who had lost their houses and most of their possessions during the Blitz. The entire population had collectively suffered extreme trauma and therefore they were very grateful to be given a new house and a new beginning.
The design of the prefabs
“Now what about these emergency houses? … They are, in my opinion, far superior to the ordinary cottage as it exists today. Not only have they excellent baths, gas or electric kitchenettes and refrigerators, but their walls carry fitted furniture—chests of drawers, hanging cupboards and tables which today it would cost eighty pounds to buy.” 19
Extract from Churchill’s speech Sunday 26th March, 1944
Figure 41 Winston Churchill delivering a speech over the radio Research into alternative construction techniques for new council homes began three years before the end of the Second World War. After the failure of the Addison Act to deliver the promised 200,000 new homes a year after WW1 20 , Churchill’s government knew that they were duty-bound to provide comfortable, modern housing for servicemen to return to. It was an evolving design process in which the Interdepartmental Committee on House Construction, later referred to as the Burt Committee after it’s chairman George Burt, worked tirelessly to gather information and test non-traditional construction methods.
A study provided by the Dudly Committee, ‘which represented the interests of the women’s movement, local government, the construction industry and the medical profession’ 21 imparted information on ‘what the modern family expected from the interior layout of post-war housing.’ 22 The Burt Committee considered these findings along with ideas submitted by private house builders and local councils and built sample houses in a test ground in Northolt, West London. Towards the end of 1943, the level of destruction from the enemy had surpassed all expectations and ‘it became clear... that only some form of quickly built temporary housing could alleviate the housing crisis.’ 23 The Burt Committee travelled to America to learn about the developments in prefabricated housing and bring back this thinking to the UK housing market.
Figure 42 Exhibition of the prefab homes at the Tate Gallery in 1944
Figure 43 Tarran prototype as showcased at the Tate Gallery exhibition in 1944
‘It is hoped that as many women as possible particularly working housewives and young married women, shall see the house.’ 24
The Times, 2nd May 1944 An indicator of the importance of this issue at the time is the series of exhibitions of the prefab designs at the Tate in 1944 (figure 42). The first was designed by CJ Mole, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, and was constructed from steel and plywood. It was well-received by the public, who marvelled at the modern kitchen, built-in storage and indoor bathrooms. The Architect’s Journal called for professional feedback on the design and ‘architects and engineers sent numerous suggestions... regarding the prototype’s layout and ceiling height.’ 25 Although these changes were amended this version of the design was never rolled out due to insufficient steel and plywood for the vast quantities of homes that were required. A second exhibition was held at the Tate in order to display three other designs by different manufacturers; the Uni-Seco (London), Tarran (Hull) and Arcon (constructed by British mass house building Taylor Woodrow who went on to merge with ‘George Wimpey in 2007 to form Taylor Wimpey, which is now one of the largest British-based housebuilding companies)’ 26. Although differing slightly in design, due to the manufacturers material preferences, the layouts and furniture of each type remained very similar due to the thorough brief set by the Ministry of Works.
The houses that make up the Excalibur Estate were UniSeco models, named so after their manufacturer ‘Selection Engineering Co Ltd’. There are two types; the Mark 3, which has a central entrance, and the Mark 2 which has a corner entrance. Both designs were two-bedroom bungalows with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and separate WC. Constructed from asbestos cement around a timber frame the main factor that set the Uni-Seco apart from other manufacturers was its ‘kit-of-parts’ design and the flexibility that this provided. The houses arrived on site ‘with kitchen/bathroom units pre-assembled and the rest arriving in flat-pack panel units and assembled tongueand-groove-style’ 27 making construction very efficient (see images on pages 18 and 19). For this reason, the Mark 3 UniSeco design ‘was the third most common type of the programme with 29,000 built.’ 28
Figure 44 Exhibition of the prefab homes at the Tate Gallery in 1944
Figure 45 Tarran prototype as showcased at the Tate Gallery exhibition in 1944
It wasn’t just the construction of the prefabs that were revolutionary, the bungalows were kitted out with all the modern technologies of the time including built-in furniture, central heating and hot water. ‘Just after the war, about a quarter of the British population didn’t have mains electricity supply’ 29 and therefore the Electrical Development Association (ECA) wrote an instruction manual to help the new residents understand and make use of their technology. Each prefab had ‘six electric power points: two in the kitchen, two in the living room and one in each bedroom.’ 30
The kitchen itself was a modern development of the Frankfurt Kitchen, 31 which was designed in 1926 by Margarete Schuette-Lihotzky, and exemplified pioneering ‘built-in’ designs and space saving solutions. 32 In 1951, the Women’s Group on Public Welfare reported that ‘the modernity of the kitchen and bathroom, sensible plumbing and the large windows were the main reasons for women’s overall satisfaction with the prefabs.’ 33
Figure 46 Uni-Seco kitchen Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2012
Figure 47 A plug socket in the living room Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2012
29 Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A social and architectural history, 1st edn, (Swindon, Historic England, 2018), pg. 37. 30 ibid (pg 37). 31 ibid (pg 36). 32 The Frankfurt Kitchen, n/a, MAK (Museum of applied arts), Vienna <https://www.mak.at/en/the_frankfurt_kitchen_1> [accessed 27/12/20]. 33 Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A social and architectural history, 1st edn, (Swindon, Historic England, 2018), pg. 37.
Figures 48-50 Built in shelving, kitchen of Uni-Seco home Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2004-2009
The Ministry of Works had also predicted a forthcoming furniture shortage and outlined the need for builtin furniture within the brief. In the Uni-Seco prefabs, this manifested as a fold-out kitchen table and built-in storage (such as wardrobes in the bedrooms and shelving in the living room and kitchen, pictured in figures 48-50). This was helpful to the new tenants as many had lost all of their possessions in the Blitz and due to shortages in materials and skilled labour, had to go without for many months. “I remember we didn’t have much furniture and no carpet in the prefab, so my grandmother went out and bought grey surplus Army blankets, machined them together in a quilted pattern and put green bindings on the edges, and we had these as carpets in the bedroom.” 34
There is much to admire about the design of the Uni-Seco dwellings and the planning of the estate as a whole. In the next section of this dissertation, I will outline the main accomplishments in the design of Excalibur as identified within the description in the listing entry. I will analyse these successes and identify whether the listing has protected these elements before studying building conservation as a whole and its limitations in relation to the Excalibur Estate.
34 Valerie Sommerville, interviewed by authors, London, 2013. As cited in: Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A social and architectural history, 1st edn (Swindon, Historic England, 2018), pg. 38.
Figure 51 Eddie O’Mahony and his family Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2012
“We opened the door and my wife said:
What a lovely big hall! We can get the pram in here.
There was a toilet and a bathroom.
I’d been used to a toilet in the garden.
The kitchen had an Electrolux refrigerator, a New World gas stove, plenty of cupboards. There was a nice garden. It was like coming into a fortune. “ 35
Little streets
The list entry for Excalibur states that the 6 prefabs along Persant Road are Grade II listed for the following reasons:
‘special interest as part of the largest surviving post-war prefab estate in England, a unique example of prefab estate planning on a large scale; their location in one of the most heavily-bombed boroughs in the capital which compounds this historic significance...’ 36
36 Historic England, Historic England, 2009 <https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/thelist/list-entry/1393212> [accessed 20/11/20].
Figure 52 (previous page) The little streets of Excalibur Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2004
Figure 53 (top) Plan of the Excalibur Estate
Figure 54 (bottom) The little streets of Excalibur Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2004 The Excalibur Estate is very low density by modern housing standards because it was constructed during a time when land was plentiful. The Lewisham Council Residential Standards, published in 2012, state that every new development in the area should achieve a density of 180-210 habitable rooms per hectare (hr/ha) 37 where a habitable room is defined as ‘a room used, or intended to be used, for dwelling house purposes (including ... a kitchen but not a bathroom).’ 38 Based on this definition the prefab Excalibur Estate is 120 hr/ha and will increase to 184 hr/ha with the completion of the Hunters redevelopment.
The low density of Excalibur allowed for carefully considered urban planning. This is evident in the orientation of the prefabs, which allows for maximum natural light, and the grouping of the homes in clusters of 6 which are interconnected by little streets. This considered design makes the estate very peaceful as the result favours pedestrian access with very few vehicular roads. This combined with the strong community made the estate an extremely fun and safe place to grow up. “Because of lack of motor traffic, we were free to roam all over the prefab estate. All the kids played games. We had a large mosquito net that we used as a tent in the garden and we had sleepovers. Security was never an issue.” 39
Unfortunately, the 6 listed properties of Excalibur are all on one street, Persant Road, on the periphery of the estate meaning that the urban planning of Excalibur is not protected in the listing and these little streets will be lost during the redevelopment.
37 Lewisham Council, Residential design standards: supplementary planning document. Local development framework,(London, 2006), pg. 9, <file:///C:/Users/Home/Downloads/ResidentialDevelopmentStandardsSPD. pdf> [accessed 13/10/20] 38 Planning portal, Planning portal, n/a <https://www.planningportal.co.uk/directory_record/275/habitable_ rooms> [accessed 26/11/20] 39 Alan Brine, interviewed by authors, London, 2014. As cited in: Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A social and architectural history, 1st edn (Swindon, Historic England, 2018), pg. 41.
Figure 55 (top) Beautiful gardens of Excalibur Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2004
Figure 56 (left) A garden prize to Eddie O’Mahony
Figure 57 (right) Linda Sinnock in her prefab garden Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2003
A plot of our own
‘This scheme has brought us into close contact with thousands of tenants of temporary housing estates who had never had any previous opportunity for gardening. Owing to the encouragement brought by a tangible gift, many householders have planted their gardens and been surprised and thrilled to see them flourish.’ 40 Dorothy de Rothschild, 18th Jan 1949. Another unique planning feature of Excalibur is the fact that each prefab had its own plot of land which included a front and back garden. This was especially important for the first residents as the wartime ‘Dig for Victory’ movement continued, along with rationing, until 1954. Campaigns such as this poster (figure 58) were part of the movement ‘aiming both to ensure that people had enough to eat, and that morale was kept high.’ 41
Many prefabs ‘stood on little more than barren building sites or land only very recently cleared of bomb debris’ 42 and therefore the need was even greater for the residents to plant their plots in order to improve the aesthetics of the villages. The WVS (Women’s voluntary service) made it their duty to help and ‘collected plants and seeds from donors, often in the countryside, and delivered them to new residents.’ 43
This scheme was incredibly popular with the residents and for many, gardening became a hobby that lasted a lifetime, as documented in Elisabeth Blanchet’s recent photographs (figures 55 and 57). In 2012, she interviewed Eddie O’Mahony, the oldest resident of Excalibur before his death in 2015, who proudly showed his award for winning the ‘Prettiest Front Garden Competition’ in July 1985 44 (figure 56). The front gardens also contributed greatly to the tightly knit community on the estate as they were the site for friendly exchanges with neighbours, a common occurrence in Excalibur as the low rise bungalows and narrow pathways made the gardens feel private and comfortable.
Figure 58 Dig for victory campaign poster
40 The Times, ‘WVS Gardens Scheme’, The Times, 18th January 1949 <https://www.thetimes.co.uk/archive/article/1949-01-18/5/8.html#start%3D1949-01-01%26end%3D194901-31%26terms%3Dgardening%26back%3D/tto/archive/find/gardening/w:1949-01-01%7E1949-01-31/1%26prev%3D/tto/archive/frame/goto/gardening/w:1949-01-01%7E194901-31/2%26next%3D/tto/archive/frame/goto/gardening/w:1949-01-01%7E1949-01-31/4> [accessed 11/11/20] 41 British Library, British Library, n/a <https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107597.html> [accessed 26/11/20]. 42 Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A social and architectural history, 1st edn (Swindon, Historic England, 2018), pg. 43. 43 ibid (pg. 43). 44 ibid (pg. 45).
Figure 59 (above) Residents fight for their prefab homes in Redditch Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2003
Figure 60 (left) Residents fight for their prefab homes in Excalibur Photographed by Elisabeth Blanchet, 2012
