British Homes over the Decades |
Posted: July 8, 2016 |
When was the first home in Britain built?
The oldest home in Britain is a circular Stone Age structure near Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, that is believed to date from 8,500 years BC – at that point Britain was still a part of Continental Europe.
A history of British homes
The UK seems to be constantly undergoing social and economic change and contemporary housing perfectly reflects this change, so here’s how houses have changed over the decades… Victorian and Edwardian – pre-1918
The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century saw massive social and economic change across the UK and there was a big push among Victorian politicians, architects, and engineers to improve living conditions for the new workforce and the poor.
Houses had a traditional cut natural slate tiled roof with cast iron guttering and overhanging eaves. Walls were solid brick, at least one-brick thick and windows were large timber sash, as improvements in glass technology allowed for larger panes.
Between the war years – 1919 to 1939
Ideas towards housebuilding changed following the First World War and a new ‘dual’ approach was taken whereby both social and private housing developments were created. As working families moved into the newly created suburbs, their lives became centred on the homes they lived in, rather than the surrounding community.
House-builders preferred plain clay roof tiles to natural slate and also introduced the cavity wall system which is still used today. Windows were usually timber surrounds, often with stained glass top lights.
The post war years – 1945 to 1959
Immediately after the war, many people lived in slum housing. World War Two had a massive impact on UK housing as almost half a million homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by bombings, adding to the problem of a housing shortage. This urgent need for new homes saw prefabrication take off across the UK, leading to a conformity in housebuilding that can still be seen today. New roofing technologies emerged that saw concrete tiles laid on felt, while cast iron or asbestos guttering was common. Brick cavity walls continued to be used, and windows were now more commonly single glazed with galvanized metal frames. The high rise age – 1960 to 1979The 1960s and 70s saw local authorities build upwards instead of outwards in a bid to curtail the ongoing housing shortage, the idea being that people would be able to enjoy affordable, high-rise living. In reality, these schemes failed both socially and financially and the buildings became high-rise slums. Prefabricated roofing continued to be used, but the old asbestos and cast iron gutters were replaced with plastic ones. Buildings had cavity walls built with block inner leaf and brick outer leaf, while windows were single timber casements or sliding horizontal aluminium. Technology in the home – 1980 to 1999This was a period of economic boom and bust and of emerging technologies – by the end of the 1980s almost every house had at least one television set, by the end of the 1990s, most houses will have had at least one computer. New building regulations were also introduced to make housebuilding safer and more uniform. And the 1990s was the decade of DIY, where home makeover programmes encouraged viewers to take on all kinds of tasks to improve the value of their property. More recent programs have a focus on upcycling; transforming items we already have and giving them a new lease of life, whether purchasing loose covers for dining chairs from somewhere like Plumbs or giving a second hand table a lick of paint. Houses from this era used trussed rafters and cavity walls with aerated block inner leaf and brick outer leaf, while casement style PVC-U double-glazed windows became the standard. Sustainable and eco-friendly housing – 2000 to presentNot only do housebuilders now have to consider the affordability of the homes they build, they must also adhere to national targets on carbon emissions, as housing has been identified as playing an integral part of the Government’s carbon reduction strategy. This means new building techniques have been pioneered by manufacturers, architects, designers and house builders as homes must now be built to meet environmentally sound criteria. In order to be energy efficient houses built from 2000 onwards have both deep roof and cavity wall insulation, while windows are still largely double-glazed in PVC-U frames.
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