Genealogy Chat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

Prefabs were supposed to be temporary, but there are plenty still being lived in. We lived in a brick house, not a prefab, but we had an outside loo for many years. I didn't realise prefabs had inside ones in those days - what luxury!

Mary They had 'fitted' kitchens too! Well, one of those kitchen cabinet thingies, wall cupboards and a drop down worktop that could be used as a table. The only bad word I ever heard was that they were subject to condensation, but then so are many modern brick built properties. OC

My nan lived in one opposite West Ham football ground when i was young.Loved going round there as they had a inside toilet and we had to go up the yard in the dark. Annie

The kitchen in the prefab I lived in was really well laid out. It had a fitted fridge and cooker and a big larder. It was big enough to have a table and chairs to eat at as well. The living room was a reasonable size and the lavatory was separate from the bathroom. Our prefab had two bedrooms of a reasonable size. I was an only child so I had quite a large room all to myself. Don't remember our prefab having condensation but that might have been because the windows never got cold! We all liked our warmth so our home was never cold - our family doesn't do cold! ;-) Cheers, Horatia

I am always reminded of prefabs when i visit a static mobile home site. I see very few differences,except for the wheels.

We moved into our prefab in Liverpool in 1956, when I was three. Grandparents were jealous because we had a fridge and indoor loo, no creepy carwlies at the bottom of the yard. lol. We did suffer from condensation though because we had metal window frames but the ice in winter made lovely patterns. Ours was flat roofed with an open porch supported by a pole. We used to shin up the pole and play 'house' on the roof until Mum yelled at us to get down. lol. Moved to a house in 1961 and Mum hated it. Plus we had to buy a fridge, cooker and table & chairs - she was well gutted. Happy days. Libby x

We had prefabs in Hemel Hempsted Herts...To this day it's still called...Tin Town. If you visit the old air field in Duxford Herts, they have a reconstructed prefab....furnished as they were when built... ...wash board in the old buttler sink....doilys everywhere to protect the work surfaces.....hand made patch work quilts bedlinen....hand made rag rugs for the floor....indoor bathroom with ...bored duck...sorry lol ...duck board (this stopped you slipping in the bath. A wooden slated board.)..... Well worth a visit! Gerri x

There is a prefab at the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans near Cardiff. It is at the end of the row identical terraces houses (my favourite bit at the moment) that are furnished from 1800 - 1980s to show how they changed through the years. Given that the prefab is 1940 vintage and the end terrace is 1980 give me the prefab any day - it is huge and as everybody has being saying separate bathroom - the 1980 terrace has the bath in the kitchen and it is covered with a work top! St Fagans is well worth a visit anyway not just to see the prefab and it is free entry. Bo