Types of homes
There are/were I think 5 types of housing on Kenton Bar Estate: 3 bedroom bungalows, 3 bedroom split levels, 3 bedroom(what we called) electric houses, 3 bedroom flats and 4 bedroom houses like those back to back at studdon walk/thirston way.The3 story flats in the middle of Beal Green/ FawleyGreen may be 2 bedroom, but this I know not because only those types of flats have I never viddied inside. However I regret I never viddied the inside of the split levels at the very top of the estate, the special different one's with secret stairs to the lower flat roof at the top of Hazeldene Ave-the one's nearest the kenton bar pub-why did they change the design as they built other split levels further down...?
(The reason I never viddied inside the top split levels was because I was not posh and had no posh friends-only the posh types lived up the top as I have said before)
However, I wish, how I wish I had lived in the flats above the shops and awoken each morning to throw open the curtains and see...She, herself, the luscious glory of our Pyry, lit up by the rising sun from the east...oh yes my brothers, those vecks who dwelt there were fortunate beyond the wildest of dreams....
(The reason I never viddied inside the top split levels was because I was not posh and had no posh friends-only the posh types lived up the top as I have said before)
However, I wish, how I wish I had lived in the flats above the shops and awoken each morning to throw open the curtains and see...She, herself, the luscious glory of our Pyry, lit up by the rising sun from the east...oh yes my brothers, those vecks who dwelt there were fortunate beyond the wildest of dreams....
Before we moved in we were sent a flyer telling us about the Estate and the different types of houses in it. The split levels were called a T1.
ReplyDeleteThe six types I remember are:
T1- Split levels
T?- The terraced ones with a single storey kitchen joining a two storey block running North/South
T?- The electric only houses with underfloor heating running East/West
T?- The cube three floor flata
T?- The flat roof bungalows
T?- The eight blocks of flats around the Pyry area.
I don't really recall the other blocks of flats south of the Pyry near the Primary school- what was at Ground floor level?
The two variants to the design were the Children's Home double bungalow at the eastern end and the special split-levels (known as T1(A) (or possibly T1/A) on Kenton Lane.
I did have a friend in a T1/A, it was just the same as what ours was except that instead of the landing at the top of the stairs, the staircase kept going. Out on the roof, low barrier walls separated each house above the lounges, a design feature not bothered with on the regular T1's.
I did see inside one of the flats on the lower Pyry plaza, it was still being built and the bottom door into the communual hallway was secured only with a hinge and screw, small beer to my scratter friends. This may well have been my first Urban exploration.
Mensforth, we do these things because we can.
ReplyDeleteI reckon from memory that the electric ones were T3 and the ones with the single storey kitchen/diner were the T2. (I had friends that lived in these types, but not the others, although I did visit a bungalow later on).
I can remember thinking when they did the list that it was pretty much the order you came to the different types from the top so the cubes might have been T4, Flats T5, Bungalows T6.
The Ryder & Yates book says there were 8 types of houses, four of which were trialled at St. Cuthbert's Green.
ReplyDeleteThe book also talks about the shops, 8m wide and up to 9m deep, depending on storage requirements. Also the shopkeepers could have the "Duplex flats" above with direct access if required, otherwise access via communal stairway.
ReplyDeleteGoldfinch Wines at the extreme right was probably 8m wide and was certainly deeper than it was wide. (It also had a back shop & loo in the covered yard).
1. Why were they called 'duplex flats?...
ReplyDelete2. I dont recall these flats above the shops ever having direct access via the shop...
Aside: I heard a tale that the BOLO's(Bastians Of Law and Order staked out Goldfinch Wines overnight in anticipation of a tip off about a notorious burglar...my reliable source who worked at the shop(we're talking 30 years ago here...) told me that when she opened up in the morning there was loads of empty cans...and no sign of a break-in..and no burglar...and no BOLO's!!!
Were the 4 bed types cube shaped in a row with a small joining bit? Or were they the terraced ones with the sticky-out kitchen blocks and a sort of porchy thing round the back?
ReplyDeleteI think the eight that Ryder & Yates mention are the split levels, the linked one/two boxes, the terraces with sticky out kitchens (& underfloor heating), the Z shaped bungalows (that R&Y call courtyard flats), the cube flats, the cube shaped houses linked together, the brick blocks of flats (3 floors) and the stucco flats with/without shops underneath.
The first four types of houses are as built at St. Cuthberts Green, now sadly spoilt by having pitched roofs added (although I notice from Google Earth that two of the Z bungalows still have flat roofs.)
I thought I'd commented on "Duplex" but can't see it. I think they meant duplex as in two floors like the maisonettes in North Kenton. (Flats on the Ground floor, houses upstairs).
ReplyDeleteShades, re the 4 bed type cube houses-yes, and you can see them in the photo in the master's post'elusive bollards'...to the left, the one's at Thirston Way...
ReplyDelete