Bathroom Doors On Honeysuckle Rd

[tozzin]

This thread is recent living history, I was chatting to a mate in the pub last night and he told me that when he lived on Honeysuckle Rd on the Flower Estate, their dowstairs bathroom DIDNT have a door fitted in fact he said that all the bathrooms were minus a door on the estate which I quite frankly found very hard to believe. I know the estate was built in the early twenties but no bathroom door, im not convinced. My mate lived their from being born in 1945 to the the early sixties when he got married but hes sure that when he was a schoolboy there was no bathroom door. Can anyone confirm or deny his claim?

[RichardB]

Sliding doors ? Concertina doors ? both hidden from view maybe ?

[SteveHB]

Sliding doors ? Concertina doors ? both hidden from view maybe ?

Or a curtain ?

[tozzin]

Sliding doors ? Concertina doors ? both hidden from view maybe ?

None of those, dont forget Im talking about the 1950s and my mate is quite adamant that there was no door.

[Lyn 1]

I lived on Lilac road in the 50s 2 bedroomed house and believe you me there was no bathroom either. The bath was in the kitchen with a wooden board over it. The toilet was outside and the coal place under the stairs in the kitchen so on wet days coal muck would be trod in. Or if you were out he dumped the delivery in the yard and mum would have to shovel it up and bring it into the coal place.

Lyn

PS I probably know your mate. He didn't appear on the front page of the retro last week did he?

[tozzin]

I lived on Lilac road in the 50s 2 bedroomed house and believe you me there was no bathroom either. The bath was in the kitchen with a wooden board over it. The toilet was outside and the coal place under the stairs in the kitchen so on wet days coal muck would be trod in. Or if you were out he dumped the delivery in the yard and mum would have to shovel it up and bring it into the coal place.

Lyn

PS I probably know your mate. He didn't appear on the front page of the retro last week did he?

Well you seem to have put me right Lyn 1 I lived on the Manor estate and that was built in the earl thirties which was around eight years after the Flower estate and we had a bathroom.

Yes he did find fame on the front page of the RETRO and do you know him?

[Lyn 1]

Yes I was in the same class at school as John but left after juniors. If you see him let him know I am in touch with Andrew Betts who lives down south.

Somewhere I have a diagram of the layout of our house as I have written up my family history and it is difficult to convey to youngsters today just how tiny our homes were. I always say there wasn't room for a wardrobe in our bedroom but it didn't matter as we didn't have any clothes to put in one. Alterations took place in the mid 1960s with a bathroom and indoor toilet being added on. I had left home by then

Lyn

[vox]

Flower Estate Garden Suburb

13-23 Wincobank Avenue, High Wincobank, 1903-04.

Class B Houses by Percy Houfton.

In 1903-4, 41 houses were built to the designs of Percy Houfton on WINCOBANK AVENUE and HEATHER ROAD. There were two types: Classes A and B. Class A is a double fronted design. That means it has a room on each side of its front door. It also had an upstairs bathroom and an inside toilet. Class B houses were smaller, single-fronted and could be built as terraces. They also had a bathroom and toilet but a scullery behind the living room.

These houses were too expensive to rent for most workingmen. A new competition was held and HL Paterson won it. 20 houses were built in HEATHER ROAD in 1906. They were cheaper and have a narrower front. These homes had a smaller living room and no bathroom.

Flickr

[lysander]

We always referred to the first lot as being the "Exhibition Houses". I was born on the nearby Brushes Estate and we had a bathroom and a toilet as well as an internal "coil oil".