Genealogy Chat

Millie in Australia is right - many of the prefabs were built by German or Italian POWs. B y the way Milly, I lived in an old house and the windows did ice-up in the winter - was a fact of life until some rocket scientist thought up double-glazing !! now all the old jumpers go to charity shops (lol)

The Prefab that I grew up in, was demolished after 11 years - not because of the condition of the property - something to do with the ownership of the land. A sad day - a whole community dispersed. I occasionally drive down 'my old street', it's changed, of course, but I know exactly where our Prefab was - there was and still is a Fire Hydrant exactly in-line with our front door. I don't think 'they' will bring back the Prefab, although relatively cheap to build they took up space and unfortunately we don't have much of that today. On our side of the road there were twelve Prefabs, how many 'flats' could be built on that same site? Happy Days, M. Steer.

hi i live in a prefab now. It is an MOD property and its well past its sell by date. I live at an RAF camp in Oxfordshire that was in the news a while back about the state of the housing. I have made the best of my house and to be honest i see myself lucky as having a roof over my head!! They were originally put up as a temporary measure but are still in place now.

Pre-fabs appear to have been comfortable and cosy and the tenants certainly made them presentable from the outside with nicely maintained gardens. However, I remember that there were many pre-fabs PRIOR to those built after WWII - anyone who lives in Welling, Kent area may remember them in Upper Wickham Lane, opposite what is now the Greek Orthodox Church - they were built by the RACS to house its workers in 1916- known as the East Wickham Hutments and residents even had their own theatre but poor drainage and sanitary arrangements. These huts survived well after WWII and from the exterior had the same appeal as the post WWII prefabs.

I was so enthralled with this fabulous topic - Thanks Margaret! :-) - that I started a prefab topic on another family history forum. Please have a gander if you feel so inclined. http://forum.yourfamilytreemag*co*uk/viewtopic.php?t=6272 There were a few types of prefab and from deduction, I think the one I lived in was an Arcon. Thanks for the book recommendation too. There are a few interesting links on the topic I started which you prefab lovers may be interested in. Cheers, Horatia aka FHA

I have a lovely book called 'The Prefab Kid - A Postwar Childhood in Kent' by Gregory Holyoake published 1998. This was a present from my niece - who was of course taking the mickey, as this was (one of) her nickname(s) for me. I called her The Council House Kid, but I don't think there is a book about them. I can't actually remember living in the prefab, but can confirm that my mother much preferred it to later council houses. Wendy

Janet, where is the house museum? I wouldn't mind having a look around that. Caz

I actually said to my OH that maybe they would alleviate the flood problem. Ann Glos

Hey Gerri, I remember tin town in Adeyfield, I grew up in Warners End but one of my school friends lived in tin town. I didn't even realise they were prefabs. I'm in Wakefield now and we have a tin town too, they are quite sought after houses. Caz

Yes, I can well recommend the house museum at Hemel. We stopped there once on our way back from Glastonbury and spent ages looking round the prefab and other houses. Far superior to the outside loo and tin bath I had as a child.

Hi all I had Freinds who lived in a prefab and they were great if they put them up today the housing shortage would go away in no time Paul

We lived in a Prefab in Bristol in the 60's. they were supposed to have been erected by German prisoners of war. The cupboards were metal and made a 'clang' when you opened or closed them. I remember the ice all over the inside of the bedroom windows in the winter, used to go to bed with my feet down the sleeves of a jumper to keep warm !! Milly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!