Little House I used to Live In.

The house was built in the 1930's, a semi, quite modest with roughcast rendering, and projecting two storey canted bays with a small garage to the side. It sat in a narrow road along with numerous other similar houses with all levels of alteration. What made this house different was that it was little altered. It had only lost its original door. It had been occupied by an old lady who had recently passed away. I always feel its best to buy off older people since there is usually little or no alterations to the house structure (although this is perhaps becoming less so in recent years given the hard sell by PVC companies!). The rear garden was wonderfully secluded with 8ft high privet on either side with a 15 ft laurel enclosing the bottom. At the bottom was also a beautiful 25ft mature pear tree.

Inside most of the original house had survived from the panelled doors complete with original knobs to the original fireplaces. The front room fireplace had an oak mantel, but the rear room had a fantastic art deco influenced tiled affair, see below. And amazingly all the bedrooms still had their small original cast iron surrounds.

Even the kitchen still had its original wooden built in cupboard to one side. The bathroom surprisingly had its original salt glazed tiles with black chequered borders, it also had a roll top bath with ball and claw feet! This was a surprise in a 1930's house.

We basically restored the house. I even rescued an original panelled front door from a similar house up the road. I noticed that the door had just been replaced late on a Saturday. I made enquiries at the house, the owner informed me that it had gone in a skip that afternoon to the tip. I got up very early on Sunday went to the tip and luckily rescued it. The salvage man took a very dim view of this and almost confiscated it off me, but I managed to hang on to it.

We lived there for 8 happy years. We then decided to move with our third child on the way, the house was no longer big enough. We reluctantly put it up for sale, hoping we could find a sympathetic buyer. A much larger 'late' Edwardian house came up for sale nearby. It required lots of work, in fact it needed underpinning, so its asking price was way below market value for such an house, but again an old lady had died, the house was largely in tact. It was to be sold by sealed bidding. We made our bid and just lost out it seems. Anyway the person who succeeded did not complete the purchase. In the meantime I was struggling after another house further up the same road (we had not sold our house yet). Then out of the blue my wife told me that the estate agents had been on the phone asking if we were still interested. I said yes, but had to tell them my house was not yet sold. I took a risk and offered to go into a bridging loan if my house had not sold by January, it was now November. It was only then they agreed a deal.

We managed to sell our house a week before Christmas - what a relief! But that was not without some trauma. The neighbour next door decided he wanted a new roof  and dormer for an attic room, he assured us that he would do it in sympathy with our side. Why then did he choose the most horrendous dirty brown concrete pantiles, and get a bunch of cowboys to do the work. The result was truly appalling. It even threatened the sale of our house, because the roofers decided to hack half of our clay tiles at the join, making a complete pigs ear of it. The buyers surveyor was not impressed. Fortunately for us it did not put off the young couple who bought it.

I often went past my old house, the couple we sold it to never altered it they seemed to appreciate its character.

Then one day they sold up, and then it was all change. Not long after it changed hands, my wife informed  that when she drove past the house one day she could hardly recognise it. All the windows had been replaced the door had gone (again!), even the original garage doors had been replaced all in wonderful PVC. I to this day I have not gone up the road, I cannot bear to look at it. And I wonder if the interior has suffered the same fate, the tiled fireplace, even the privet hedges?

I have recently moved from London to Dover, I have exchanged a rabbit hutch house for a large four bedroom Victorian house (bought for less than I sold my last hose for!!) The details from the estate agent said the house was in need of updating, when I first viewed my house I fell in love with it straight away, every room has the original alcove cupboards, and all the original cast iron fireplaces (bar the front room). You can even see where the old gas fittings for lights are, I also have lovely oak floorboards. It is not all perfect as somewhere along the way previous owners have covered the fireplaces in layers of gloss paint (one stripped,four to go!) most of the sash windows have gone, and wood chip covers the lath and plaster walls, a real headache. If you look at my terrace of five houses it is a very sad sight most are rendered and have got nasty double glazing ruining what would have been a fine terrace.I am "doing up" or should I say "doing back" my house, I am hoping (over time!) to put back my missing sash windows, replace my railings (taken in 1942 for ammunition!) and other, what I call home improvements, what a lot of people think is wasting money. I am running out of space and have more to say on subject!! your site is a great eye-opener I wish more people would look and learn, Dover is full of wonderful buildings which are being ruined!

Emailed from Tazmin Rear - August 2002

If people want to add their stories please email me.......

Hi,

I just stumbled onto the 'house under threat' site and loved it.

It's good to know I'm not the only one who almost has a breakdown to see
beautiful original feature destroyed in the name of 'progress'.

My heat sinks every time I see yet another PVC fitters van pull up on our
street to start work on destroying perfectly repairable sash windows.
People  must be soooooo blind to their surroundings.

I really did stumble onto the site by accident, browsing for 1930's
architectural features on google. We're moving from our terrace to a 30's
semi - has many very nice original features - but unfortunately......
urrgghhh.....PVC front windows! The retention of the front door/stained
glass panels makes up for it a little. It's really hard trying to find
unmolested properties in our area. It seems the more popular the area, the
more the properties have been mauled.
Keep up the good work.

David Botting.
Leicester.

16/11/2002

BAC Windows were once the proud sponsors of West Ham United Football club. They have now gone bust and West Ham are to be relegated, yet individuals like myself still have to contend with the ugliness that has destroyed the beauty of 1930’s housing. My recent purchase was a semi-derelict 1930's property in the outskirts of London, bought to avoid ‘tasteful’ features such as through lounges, artexing, cemented drives, ranch gates, wooden decking and above all plastic windows.

Whilst the street is pervaded by pargeting displaying gladiatorial scenes, mock Tudor roses and phallic ostentatious emblems of conspicuous consumption, this property had been modernised once in the 1960's and left.  In place were three original Art Deco fireplaces and the basic structure of the original windows where supporting posts had made way for large individual panes of glass and louver windows.  

The ball started rolling when I bought for £50 the original Art Deco windows and front door from a gentleman a street away who I saw being sacrificed at the sword of PVC.  These were all re-leaded and new sashes made and all supporting posts put back in place.  Immediately the property was transported back 70 years.  Then the staircase has been completely restored and antique pine, square balusters put in, and hundreds of feet of picture rails re-erected and dado too in the hallway and landing.  Hardboard doors have been stripped back, to reveal original 1930’s doors.  

Then with the bit between my teeth all of the beautiful tiled Art Deco fireplaces were completely restored and a reclaimed 1930's fireplace put in the back bedroom so that each room has a tiled fireplace and a 30’s feel.  My other half having refused to have a butler sink placed in ‘her’ kitchen has also entered into the spirit of things placing a number of Lempicka paintings throughout the house, and the back room completely decorated in a 30’s style, including Art Deco wall paper a 30’s 3 piece suite and a few pieces of  Clarice Cliff on display.

Whilst I understand the convenience that plastic windows and alike bring, can local authorities not see that basically the free reign that individuals have is destroying the look of areas.  When I see PVC companies pull out beautiful Art Nouveau and Deco windows something special is lost that can never easily be replaced.  Can people not appreciate the beauty of what is being ripped out.  Solid wood, often more than repairable and invariably of far superior quality to  modern hardwoods are thrown into skips and stained glass whisked off to dealers or simply smashed. Tiled fireplaces are skipped, walls crashed through, garages made into rooms and lofts transformed into mini flats with ugly heads peering out over surrounding gardens.  In essence suburbia is becoming faceless.  I have seen more beauty in Dagenham and in blocks of flats in Leyton.  Local Authorities are to be held responsible for this destruction with planners who allow flats to be built at the bottom of gardens and everything original to be committed to the skip.  

Whilst my exploration of 1930’s decor is a bit of fun on my part, my arguments about destroying British housing are not.  I feel that the craftsmanship and beauty of properties from the 30’s and before are significantly under threat and all but disappeared in many areas.  If people do not switch on to what is happening and attempt tasteful restoration, in keeping with the area in which they live, then a large slice of British history has been lost. Local Authorities could solve the problem by setting out more stringent guidelines in relation to modernisation. Original features could be removed and retained by the authority and the free reign of destruction stopped by preservation orders. I am no government policy maker,  but as an individual in my 20’s can see that much of what is modern is by no means as tasteful and made with as much skill and craftsmanship as what my grandfathers generation and before had created. It is time for people to wake up and this mass destruction to be slowed.

Mr J Pain.

29/12/2002 

Hi,

I stumbled upon your site whilst researching fireplaces for my 1930's 2 up, 2 down semi with shallow bayed windows and original doors. I have been searching for ages for information about how to restore our home, but all I seem to be able to find is Victorian information. I am fighting a battle with my boyfriend as well, who, after deciding that we didn't want to live in a modern box - now wants to turn our house into a modern box! Your site has made me even more determined not to give into him! Especially as the house across the road has just installed a Georgian front door!

Thankyou very much - you have cheered my day up, now I just have to find some helpful sites about fireplaces as we have a horrendous 1970's gas nightmare to replace!

Regards

Nicki Griffiss.

13/03/2004

Hi Colin
I too am so sad at the gradual lose and destruction of the 1930?s semi,
even now in these enlightened times you would think people would know about
and treasure the wonderful original features in or on their homes. But alas
no, still the original window and doors go in the skips and still delightful
front gardens get cleared to be replaced by block paved car parks.
We love our house as it retained its original character, I must admit that
we had a good one to start with, as we are the second owners and luckily
the previous owners had not modified the house very much since the late
1930?s
We have lived here 10 years now and as those years have passed our home
gets better looking while all the others in our road just get to look even
more of a mess, with miss judged DIY and so called home improvements.
I really don?t know what the answer to this is! But I felt that I had to
write to you to tell you that there are a few people out there like yourself
with a real concern in what is happening to an important and much overlooked
part of our heritage.

Please find the pics of our much loved house in the

From Clive.

26/04/2004

Dear Colin
Thanks for the nice comment on our house, of course I don?t expect everyone
to take preserving their homes to the same level as we have done. It would
be nice for more people to give a bit more thought into maintaining their
properties and respecting the original design and concept of the house in
which they live.
I can tell that your views are completely the same as mine and the dismay
of so much being lost at this time.
I live in croxley green that sprang up as so many places as a result of
the metropolitan line in the 1930?s. Though still a nice place to live in
it has now lost most of it?s character and indeed charm.
In the ten years I?ve seen stunning Art Deco stain glass disappear, delightful
stepped walls knocked down. I could go on and on and I?m sure that you have
seen the same thing as you know this is going on all over the country.
Anything to help preserve what?s left for future generations to enjoy is
important and I wish you the very best in this. If there is any part I can
play in helping within my capabilities I?m more than happy to as this is
a subject close to my heart.
I hope you like the picture I took some years ago on holiday in Devon, I
hope the double glazing people haven?t got at it.
Please keep me in touch.

From Clive     
27/04/2204

I am an historic preservation activist in Washington, DC, where we have the same issues. I came across your website as a fluke and would appreciate it if you could actually give me the url for it, I couldn't connect to it directly.

You might be interested in the work of the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (www.cdcp.org). They have a number of items on their website including the "Residential Design Awareness Presentation" and a set of five two-page handouts on "Your Home" etc. which make the same points that the article from the Birmingham News made.

Do you know if a publication was ever produced for the traveling photographic exhibition. It sounds like a good idea that we can try to adapt for DC.

Thanks, your site looks interesting... "preservationists of the world, unite!"

Richard Layman Washington, DC

18/19/11/2004

Hi,

I just thought you might like to see a rare example of a fabulous row of Edwardian tenement flats in Glasgow with a full compliment of intact original windows. Sadly this is a rare sight.

Just picked up your e-mail – sorry for the delay in replying but I don’t check my ntl inbox that often as I tend to use hotmail.

Feel free to use the pic on your site – it came from an estate agency website so I don’t think there will be any copyright issues. I came across your very interesting website as I am flat hunting at the moment and I have become a bit obsessed in trying to find a flat in Glasgow that has not been subject to the usual “improvements” and the one thing that I cannot tolerate is upvc replacement windows. As you say the best option is to try and find a property that has been owned by older people who have never fully experience the home improvement revolution.

The picture is of a row of flats on Terregles Ave in Pollockshields in Glasgow and, as you might expect, this little pocket is in a conservation area which has some of the finest period properties in Glasgow. If you are interested I can take some pictures myself and give you some info to put on your site or alternatively have a look at

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/pollokshields/Thomson%20Tenement%2004.htm to see what I consider to be one of the finest tenement building in the South side of Glasogw by Alexander “Greek” Thompson.

Hi Colin,

Yes, Gavin Stamp has done much to champion and revitalise interest in the work of Glasgow’s other, “forgotten” architect. GS lived until recently in Moray Place in Glasgow, which is considered to be one of AGT’s finest terraces. The house was, in fact, also lived in by AGT himself. The gossip amongst those concerned with such things was that GS’s home, ironically, was the least well conserved in the terrace, but this had nothing to do with UPVC or satellite dishes (my other bette noir) – heaven forbid.

Keep up the good work and yes I would like to read your letter to BB.

Regards,

John Hutchinson

23/02/05

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