Comments on: Now and Then

By: uphilldowndale

uphilldowndale — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:53:56 +0000

A cool gel thing sounds just right, I must investigate; certainly paracetamol was not up to the task.
I’m going to have to find the mill to go with the cottages the next time I’m out that way.

By: inspectorgadget

inspectorgadget — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:53:20 +0000

1890’s and have you tried those cool gel things that go on your head?

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:44:05 +0000

Interesting look at the old and new. Perhaps it’s true what they say about the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Hope you’re feeling better by now.

By: laid back runner

laid back runner — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:27:55 +0000

Unusual with the roofs being angled following the pavement/road but its more common than you think. Whilst travelling around the country ive seen this a few times in different places.
A new housing estate near me has gone back to terraced houses which is partly due to he credit crunch.

By: aendr

aendr — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:20:37 +0000

As well as the not inconsiderable land costs to the employers building workers’ accommodation (after all, they also skimped on surplus grounds; no front area, a small yard and a shared privy was common) is the material and building costs. A terrace of say 10 houses has 2 outside side walls and 9 interior (potentially thinner) side walls, a row of 10 semi-detached houses has 10 outside side walls and 5 interior side walls but a row of 10 detached houses has to have 20 outside side walls. Guttering, side windows, fencing etc. all mount up and if you’re penny pinching, after all these are only bottom rung workers, then you might as well penny pinch everywhere.

By: disgruntled

disgruntled — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:18:30 +0000

This is the key to it – it’s not so much that modern houses in a given estate look all the same – it’s more that, wherever you go, they all look the same, the regional differences are disappearing and it’s just the same decorated brick boxes whether you’re in Lerwick or Lewes.

By: uphilldowndale

uphilldowndale — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:05:37 +0000

I imagine it was to do with greater pressure on land prices. The mill owners would have funded both the need for houses and the money to build them ( and went on to collect the rents from his workers as well… and they would have bought food from the shops that he owned, everything was well ’stitched up’ apt for the land of textile mills! ) He would have wanted as many workers to live near the mill as possible.

By: uphilldowndale

uphilldowndale — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:56:08 +0000

There is something about the rhythm that I like, I can think of a red brick terrace in Stockport that is beautiful in the light of dawn, but not beautiful enough to get me to drive the A6 at some un-Godly hour in the morning to bring it to this blog. It was a long time before I even noticed diminishing courses, some how the eye makes compensations. Of course in Scotland you have the lovely 'crow-step' gables Sadly there is less regional variation in the style of new builds, so in that sense there are 'very much of a muchness'

By: uphilldowndale

uphilldowndale — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:46:57 +0000

You just have to press the right buttons!
We will be having our house re- roofed soon, slates are on his mind.
Looking at the old terrace you can’t help but think they were very nifty at the calculations, a curved terrace, on a sloping site, all with out the aid of a calculator.

By: Gerry

Gerry — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:58:29 +0000

It would be interesting to see how well the row housing built in the 20th century holds up in comparison with terraces from the 19th.

And at last we see what it takes to get Mr. UHDD to comment on these pages. Roof slates! Worthy comment, too. Now he’s got me thinking about the arrangement. Think I’ll go have a nap.