Genealogy Chat

Kenneth If I remember rightly, they knocked down a lot of prefabs to build Ronan Point...and look where that is now. OC

I know the pre-fabs well; they weren't particularly grand looking but they were only built as a temporary measure to meet the needs of the time.Their 'life' expectancy was 10 years... ! I'll bet modern houses aren't built as well as they were, and the authorities would do well to blow the dust off some of the old drawings (they must still exist) and build 'prefab estates' to overcome the current housing shortage.

i was born in one 9th march 1963 in blyth northumberland it was my grandparents house but my mam took over the tenancy and we lived there until i was fifteen. i used to fall asleep listening to the rain on the corregated metal roof yet i cant stand a clock that ticks. our's had three bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. outside there was a large coal shed and a smaller one(cant remember what that was for) and gardens front and rear. we had a large pussy willow tree out front and blackberry bushes out back. as everyone says they were a temperary solution but none of the blyth ones have been knocked down to my knowledge. dawn

I lived for the first 18 years of my life in a prefab in the East End of London. Although prefabs don't always look that great on the outside, I think many people got a shock when they came inside our home. People used to say how lovely they were (all mod con). We had a coal fire in ours that heated the water. My mother often used to beg me to take a bath to use some of the hot water up! I was very happy in my pre-fab. They were warm and cosy and could be made to be very homely and inviting. Some people look down on prefabs but now they are listed buildings and highly sought after! ;-) I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone who has lived in one and not liked their prefab home. Cheers, Horatia

My parents moved into their Prefab in 1948/49. My Mother must have thought 'she'd died and gone to heaven'. A fully fitted kitchen, with integrated refrigerator. Indoor 'loo' and a bathroom! M.Steer

That takes me back :) We lived in the 'posh' council flats and just down the road were the prefab dwellers....Temporary homes set up on the old bomb sites. Only this year I saw a programme about the remaining South London Prefabs and how the residents were fighting to keep them from being rehoused by the 'Council'.......They have an amazing community spirit! Chris

A prefab, such luxury!! My early years, afer the war, were spent in an ex-RAF Nissen Hut, which we used to call the 'tin huts'. The noise when it rained was something else. But they were in the countryside and we could roam free without too much worry. A prefab was considered POSH. Jennifer

Gran had one in Deptford SE London she lived in it for over 10 years. it was on a corner plot so had a lovely three sided garden which her stepson kept lovely. Was a 2 bedroom flat roof prefab with more mod cons than we had in our 5 bed victorian house at Charlton. Shirley

My In-laws moved to a prefab in 1949 and thought they had died and gone to heaven! My MIL said they couldnt believe they had an INDOOR toilet, all to themselves AND a proper bathroom. The new generation of prefabs are timber framed houses - cheap, quick and easy to erect. We lived in one for eight years and it was the warmest house I have ever lived in - and much bigger than anything else for the same money at the time. I really DON'T understand why local authorities do not use them. OC

Me , me, me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only the housing association has bricked them up,lol. They do look nice.Its like a new estate has been put up. Tina

I didnt live in one but there were quite a few of them near where I lived in SE London and I would visit friends who lived in them - they were great. I believe there are a couple in Greenwich that have preservation/conservation orders on them. Sue

On the radio, today, someone was suggesting, that to alleviate the housing problem, they should build 'Prefabs'. I grew up in a 'Prefab'. Way ahead of their time. Anyone else ever live in a Prefab? M. Steer