How long has there been Council Housing in Sheffield?

[Titanic99 10]

I was driving past a road today and my wife mentioned that her Great Grandmother had lived in a Council House on that road in the early 1940’s.

 

I must admit that I had thought Council Housing had come in as part of the creation of the Welfare State so it got me thinking about how long it has been around in Sheffield.

 

So out of interest does anyone know when and where the first Council estates in Sheffield got built.

[e912 10]

1890ish the housing of the working classes act, kicked it all off,

 

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/timeline101.html

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Here's some info:

After World War I the heavy industries of Sheffield entered a recession. There was severe unemployment in the city in the 1920s and 1930s. However that era also marked the beginning of large-scale slum clearance. The first council houses were built in Sheffield at that time.

 

Interesting article about Sheffield history: http://www.localhistories.org/sheffield.html

[Plain Talker 11]

I was driving past a road today and my wife mentioned that her Great Grandmother had lived in a Council House on that road in the early 1940’s.

 

I must admit that I had thought Council Housing had come in as part of the creation of the Welfare State so it got me thinking about how long it has been around in Sheffield.

 

So out of interest does anyone know when and where the first Council estates in Sheffield got built.

 

parts of estates like Southey, Firth Park/ Wincobank and Manor were built in the late 20s, and there was a huge growth in the 1930s, when Arbourthorne, Manor (parts), Greenhill, Parson Cross and Shiregreen when there were swathes of slum clearances.

 

There are areas like Townhead Street, Edward Street, Lambert Street and Furnace Hill which were built in the very early 1900s/1910s.

[badwolf 10]

Many people were rehoused onto new estates after the blitz. My great aunt's family were bombed out when they lived on Matilda St and were moved up to The Oval at Firth Park.

[poppins 10]

It seems Council housing has been getting a bad wrap only in the past 20 years, even less, we lived on Southey Estate in the 50s I didn't know anyone back then who didn't live in a Council house, so where did all the snobbery come from all of a sudden ?

[Plain Talker 11]

It seems Council housing has been getting a bad wrap only in the past 20 years, even less, we lived on Southey Estate in the 50s I didn't know anyone back then who didn't live in a Council house, so where did all the snobbery come from all of a sudden ?

 

It may have come in more when the Right to Buiuy was established, I'm not certain.

 

What I can tell you is that a former neighbour of mine bought her house, (And it was only a scabby prefab, at that!!) and all of a sudden, she was better than everyone else. The sneer on her face became almost permanent, and she joined the ranks of those whose (*Cough*) doesn't stink...

[Joanl 12]

I was born on Newhall Road in 1942 in what I suppose was a Council House....although I think then, they were called Corporation Houses. Can't remember my parents ever calling them Council Houses to be honest.

They never owned their own house although I recall being told that they did have an opportunity to buy a semi det on Trusswell Avenue for £500 at one time a long time ago. For me, to be honest, it's never been something I've been too fussed about. I've always liked the idea of just being able to up and go when and wherever.

[xfox3x 10]

I was born on Newhall Road in 1942 in what I suppose was a Council House....although I think then, they were called Corporation Houses. Can't remember my parents ever calling them Council Houses to be honest.

They never owned their own house although I recall being told that they did have an opportunity to buy a semi det on Trusswell Avenue for £500 at one time a long time ago. For me, to be honest, it's never been something I've been too fussed about. I've always liked the idea of just being able to up and go when and wherever.

 

I started off in a council flat and was so pleased when I eventually bought my own house...thought that I was now free to do what I wished as regards re-locating, improvements etc.

Worst mistake I made.......all council houses are modernised with new kitchens / bathrooms etc.

I have a scabby kitchen with a boiler likely to pack up at any moment and no funds to replace them (£3000 quoted by British Gas).

If I want to move it'll cost a fortune in solicitors fees and HIPs.

Property rich, pound poor....would never buy again!!!

[carosio 186]

parts of estates like Southey, Firth Park/ Wincobank and Manor were built in the late 20s, and there was a huge growth in the 1930s, when Arbourthorne, Manor (parts), Greenhill, Parson Cross and Shiregreen when there were swathes of slum clearances.

 

I believe the old Flower Estate was one of the earliest. Large estates such as Parson Cross, Foxhill etc. were started just before the outbreak of war; if work had progressed beyond the damp proof course then the houses would be completed, if not, work would be halted for the duration.

[Floridablade 11]

We lived on Southey Hall Drive in the 30s and Longley was built but Parsons Cross was just started about 1933. We used to walk to Ecclesfield without walking on a road, it was just fields beyond the school although houses were started in the area.

[painterman 10]

I seem to remember reading in a book about old Sheffeld, that the first council properties for rent were the flats on Townhead Street in 1904, they used to run from Campo Lane down to Broad lane.

 

Think the date is right but the old memory is not what it used to be.