Author Topic: brum prefabs  (Read 74089 times)

countrylad

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #154 on: May 02, 2017, 08:03:18 PM »
Hi Ogri, Great to hear from someone who knew of them.  I don't know if you remember, but they had a bit of a swing seat for Dougie, often put up in the summer on the grass. Do you remember the plants that used to grow along the front fence. They were very tall (well, tall to me at the time) I think they were called Golden Rod.


As you know, Dougie couldn't communicate very well. But was a bit of an attraction for the kids going to Greet school. Which in a way, was a good job. Nan suffered a stroke and was lying on the floor for a couple of days, Dougie was not able to call anyone or get himself to the front gate. He probably thought Nan was sleeping. It was only that there were more kids there than usual at gate, that the next door neighbour came out to see what was going on. She went to check on Nan as had not seen her, only to find Nan on the floor unconscious.  So in a way, the kids congregating probably saved Dougie from a very difficult time in the prefab. Nan died shortly after and Dougie came to live with us for a while.


Yes, the outdoor counter did seem high, mind you, I can still smell the beer and see old granddad in his chair in the Kitchen having his pint. He always wore heavy brown cord cord trousers, a proper granddad shirt  with vest and a heavy cloth cap. They used to spend most of their time in the kitchen (facing the Warwick road), the other room was kept for best. 


       

roy one

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #155 on: May 02, 2017, 08:29:36 PM »

its a little bit of tack but I do not know of any prefabs left standing in Birmingham when first put up they was given a life of about ten years  but I do know where there are some still standing and lived in they are in Redditch


each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

frederick

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #156 on: May 02, 2017, 08:34:42 PM »
I don't know if I mentioned it before but our house is built where prefabs once stood and some of the people that lived in them I have spocken to many times.
Failure to Prepare is to Prepare to Fail

Ogri

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #157 on: May 03, 2017, 08:56:44 AM »
Hi countrylad,
Yes i remember the plants in the garden,seemed to make for a nice secluded garden,being so close to the main road & the entrance to the brick yard.
Spoke to my older brother who has very similar memories of our time there.
Lowes transport kept some lorries behind the petrol station opposite & there were a few lock up garages , where as an apprentice mechanic in the 60s,i did a few "foreigners.


Phil

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #158 on: May 03, 2017, 10:22:17 AM »
Roy

I think the only prefabs remaining in Birmingham on their original condition are the 17 on Wake Green Rd Hall Green. Though I think only 10 of them are still occupied the others are now used as a sort of museum. Follow this link for more information,

http://www.prefabmuseum.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Prefab-Post-Issue-3-web.pdf

I'm pretty sure that there are other prefabs in the Birmingham area, but they are no longer recognisable as such after being clad in brick and re-roofed.
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

countrylad

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #159 on: May 04, 2017, 09:46:33 AM »
Hi Ogri,


Was there a big fire in or near the lorry yard in about 1962/3? I can remember mom talking to Nan about a fire across the road, with mom saying it was a good job the petrol garage didn't catch fire otherwise the prefabs may have gone up too.


Funny you should mention 'foreigners'. I wonder if this is just a Brum saying. I too was an apprentice mechanic, this was at Catswell Lodge Garage, Hall Green next to the coal warf and Hall Green station from about 1970. Folks would sometimes ask me to do a 'Foreigner' for them. When I moved out of Brum to work and I used the expression 'foreigner' I had to explain to them what I meant.  Dad (and many of the family) worked at the Bakelite Tysley for 40 + years and he was always going on about him and the lads doing foreigners.     


I only get back to Brum once or twice a year these days. I drove past the site of the prefabs about 12 months ago and there was a great big advertising board on the site of Nan's and the neighbors prefab.


 


     

Ogri

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #160 on: May 04, 2017, 11:22:53 AM »
Hi countrylad,
cant remember a fire around the garage but i do remember one at the brick works as they used one of the hydrants by your nan's gate and as kids we helped(?)them roll out the hoses.
Bakerlite was one of the many big firms in the area & we all new of somebody employed by them along with Serc,Brooketools,Smiths crisps or the BSA.
I haven,t been back to that part of Brum for 40 years or so , but will have to make the effort,i have visited on Google a few times .

trap0001

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #161 on: July 17, 2017, 06:33:51 PM »
Leycroft Avenue - full of prefabs - all modernised (and commanding stupid money on the market). Except this one..

astoness

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #162 on: July 18, 2017, 07:27:25 AM »
just been reading that you can buy a prefab for about £95000 not bad considering they were only meant to last for a about 10 years :)  there is a nice example of one fully kitted out at the avoncroft museum..must say that having walked around it they do seem quite cosy inside...cant recall now where it was moved from...could have been shard end way...i will try and dig out the photos and info i have of it and after all the devastation and homes lost during the war i bet folk thought they were moving into little palaces


lyn

Phil

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #163 on: July 18, 2017, 03:01:10 PM »
Can anybody tell me, if these bungalows on Slade Road in Erdington are new build or are they the original prefab buildings that have been re-roofed and encased in brick?
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

astoness

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Re: brum prefabs
« Reply #164 on: July 18, 2017, 03:35:36 PM »
passed them a few times phil..at a guess i would say they are new build but dont take my word for that


lyn


 

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