12 December 2006 - They were too hot in summer and too cold in winter and only meant to be temporary. But - just like Latimer Towers - they were the place many called home.Yes, we're talking about our old friend the prefab, of which Bristol once had an amazing 3,000.
Now, after long debate and recrimination, they are finally going, to be replaced by a mix of bungalows, flats and houses, half of which will be social housing. It's just amazing how many of these aluminium or corrugated iron-and- asbestos homes survived the years, especially in the British climate. The first ones, erected in the suburbs of St George and Shirehampton in 1945, just after the end of World War II, were meant for families who'd seen their homes reduced to rubble due to fire or bombing.
Constructed in factories, and then put together on site, they were bolted together, rather like Meccano, in less than three days. Wartime leader Winston Churchill, who was very keen on the project, planned to build 200,000!
Bristol Aeroplane Company, with surplus capacity after the war, decided to make aluminium prefabs as well as planes. Churchill, much impressed, made a visit to Bristol to see them. Although they weren't supposed to, many families fell in love with their new 'detached' homes - 'little palaces' they called them. Although there was little privacy, they had fitted kitchens with a fridge and cooker, a lounge and bathroom as well as large gardens for growing vegetables.
Within a few years, Bristol's remaining 300 prefabs will take their place in the history books but, before they do, English Heritage has called for some of the best examples - two are in St George - to be ' listed' and preserved for posterity.
Bristol is the prefab centre of the country - some of the few left with their original fixtures and fittings.' 'The 'Arcon' and the 'Phoenix', for instance, are of a type not found elsewhere.'
But the people who really know about conserving these unique homes are those who chose to buy their prefabs rather than rent them. Given new roofs, pebbledash exteriors, double glazing and central heating, they still make great little homes, especially if they are in the Sneyd Park area of the city.
In fact, one sold at auction here last year for an incredible £150,000 although prices normally reach a more modest £70,000 to £80,000. The prefabs in Newport, South Wales, some of which are unique examples, are also, despite an outcry from preservationists up and down the country, being demolished and replaced with more modern housing.
Readers might be interested to hear that things have taken a very different turn in the West Midlands town of Redditch. Here 30 council-owned prefab dwellings, constructed extensively of aluminium just after the last war, are, to the delight of the residents, going to be preserved and refurbished rather than torn down.
Redditch's prefabs were constructed from recycled aluminium taken from crashed or decommissioned World War II aircraft supplied by the Ministry of Works which, at that time, were in plentiful supply. Despite some timber being used, the corrosion resistance of aluminium has ensured these well cared for homes a long life of more than 60 years.
Long may these cosy little buildings survive.
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