 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Housing
Most of us living in Warrington today are fortunate to live in houses with central heating, running water and electric lighting. Up until a hundred years ago a bathroom was considered a luxury and many people lived in cramped housing.
| In 1901 Warrington 's population was 65,000 compared to just 10,567 in 1801. In the overcrowded, unhealthy housing in the centre of Warrington, where perhaps up to fifty people shared one toilet, the spread of diseases such as cholera and TB was rife. |  |
click on image to enlarge |
|
Some of Warrington's wealthier residents started to campaign for improved housing for the poor. Social reformer, Arthur Bennett, was influenced by the English garden city movement. Two garden suburbs were started in Warrington in the early 1900s, one in Great Sankey and one in Grappenhall. The sites were located close to green spaces and transport links and the houses were spacious and built to a high standard. |
 |
click on image to enlarge |
|
| The work on these garden suburbs was never completed to the original plans, but inspired the construction of council-funded housing across Warrington after 1920. Bewsey was the first council estate to be built in Warrington and was opened by Arthur Bennett in 1927. Other estates followed at Westy, Orford and Loushers Lane in Latchford. |  |
click on image to enlarge |
|
| Since Warrington was designated a New Town in 1968 there have been new waves of housing construction to meet the demands of the town's growing population. The 21st century housing boom and regeneration work in central areas of Warrington has brought housing back into the town centre. Luxury apartments and three-storey mews housing have now replaced the heavy industry and overcrowded housing that once dominated the town centre. | |
John moved to the Loushers Lane estate in 1932 when he was six. The new council house was away from the pollution of the town and offered a healthier environment for families, like John's, to live in. "My first sight of the estate was from the crossbar of my father's bicycle. He had ridden from our old home at the other side of town along Knutsford Road. Instead of cobbled streets I was in open fields. For the first time we had the luxury of a bathroom. The bedrooms all had linoleum and carpets on the floors. The front bedroom had a small fireplace and a small fire would be lit if anyone was ill in bed."
|
|
Terms & conditions | Privacy policy | Acknowledgements
