Before
the introduction of the ubiquitous tower block at the end of the Second World
War, social housing in the United Kingdom consisted mainly of
blocks of flats
known as tenement buildings. In very general and sometimes unfair terms, the
word tenement block is used to describe any block of flats that is of a more
modest design and build quality, although in many cases this is far from the
truth. Many tenement blocks of flats have stood the test of time, particularly
in Scotland, where often quality materials such as sandstone have been employed
in the construction. Here the word tenement is used to describe any block of
flats that does not have a lift and shares a common central stair case. What was
often constructed as social housing is now home to a broad spectrum of society,
many of the blocks or individual flats are in private ownership and some have
achieved listed status, preserving their architectural merits for future
generations.
There
is evidence of tenement blocks being in existence since the 16th century,
however changes in the social and economic climate in the 19th century, brought
about a need for more social housing and thus was born a strong demand for this
type of building. A number of factors contributed to an increased demand in
social housing at this time. Firstly, this was the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution in Great Britain, a time of unprecedented change. The nineteenth
century also saw a huge growth in the population. The fundamental reasons for
this are unclear but it is possible that advances in science meant that more
children were surviving infancy to reach adulthood and thus families were
becoming larger in general. People also were living longer in to old age and
Britain’s immigrant population had started to swell with people looking for work
or, as is still the case today fleeing foreign tyranny or disaster. Large
numbers of people had started to arrive in Britain from Ireland, attempting to
escape famine and hardship.
By the
end of the century, the population of Great Britain had trebled, more housing
was required and the bulk of it in the ever burgeoning cities. Until the start
of the Industrial Revolution, Britain had been a largely agrarian society, that
is to say that our way of life was based on agriculture and this was the main
means of support in the towns and villages of the country. People worked the
land and it tended to provide for almost all needs, communities were often
insular and moving around was restricted for business or trade reasons. This
form of organization in fact has been in existence for almost all of history
with the expectation of the post industrial revolution years. Changes in
population density at or around this time led to an increased need in social
housing and tenement blocks of flats fitted the bill. Although the population
was rising, in certain areas it was actually decreasing as people left their
previous occupations as land workers and headed to the cities for what was often
seen as a better way of life and employment and the chance of better rates of
pay, although it must be added not always better working conditions.
The
industrial and mining centers of the country started to see large influxes of
workers, either skilled or unskilled, not only from this country but from
overseas as well. The perception was that life would be better, often though ,it
was exactly the opposite, too many people chasing too few jobs led to drop in
wages, if you didn’t like it, there would be someone else to take your place.
The effect of low wages meant that in the main, workers had to be accommodated
near to the place of work and thus there was a scramble to obtain cheap housing,
shortages, led to overcrowding and a variety of other well documented problems.
In no other part of the country were these conditions more magnified than
London, here the population grew at a record rate.
Tenement blocks of flats were constructed as quickly as possible to meet demand,
but they often had a fearsome reputation and blocks of flats in the east of
London that today reach fantastic sale prices were often home to some of the
most wretched, lower echelons of society. As well as these tenement blocks or
model dwellings as many became known, larger houses were often converted in to
individual flats. Owners were quick to seize on the need for accommodation and
many buildings were hastily converted in to individual units that could be
rented out. Often tenants would take a whole building and would then sublet
part, these rental agreements were mostly informal and common lodging houses
abounded, where rooms were available often on a per day or night basis. Large
houses were turned into flats and the landlords who owned them, were not
concerned about the upkeep or the condition of these dwellings, no value was
seen in upkeep or repair probably as the renters had such low expectations and
the laws of supply and demand dictated that what ever the condition of your
property, in all probability, you would be able to find a tenant. Tenement
blocks of flats and other converted buildings soon became what can be best
described as slum property, although sanitation did improve slightly over the
years, by the time the second world war arrived, many were in an appalling state
of dilapidation. If there is any positive at all to be gleaned from the effects
of aerial bombing in the second world war, it is that it helped clear away large
tracts of this property from our landscape. The government and local authorities
had to move quickly to find replacements and thus you could say that the tower
block was designed out of necessity.
