Were houses on the Ladder built as flats or houses originally?

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Permalink Reply by Geraldine on March 10, 2023 at 13:37

We lived in one of the bigger houses at the bottom of Seymour.  My earliest memory is that there was a single fellow on the top floor, presumably renting, who during the war would bring us American comics from somewhere.  On the first floor was my grandmother who drifted back and forth to India, and my mother, my sister and I lived on the ground floor.  We all rented as most did in those days.  Many of my schoolmates lived on one floor only in the 1940s and 1950s.  I recall the rent being 5 shillings a week.  It makes sense that originally most houses were built as one-family dwellings plus domestics.  My aunt in Beresford had a lodger from Ireland in the 1950s.

Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on March 10, 2023 at 15:39

They were mainly built as single family dwellings but many were actually used by a mix of households.  If you look at the census data right back to the start of the twentieth century there are a substantial number with more than one family name residing in them or with lodgers.

Permalink Reply by Ruth on March 10, 2023 at 15:50

Taking in lodgers, paying guests, was a good way to earn a bit of income especially for middle class women who had fallen on hard times such as death of husband etc. 

Permalink Reply by Richard Woods on March 10, 2023 at 16:49

Interesting points this. These houses were what today we would call speculative development. There was no planning in those days and no building regulations. Looking back we were lucky to get mains water and drains with actual sewage collection!

Anyway it always seemd to me that they had been buiolt as single homes with the developers' probably expectation thery would be bought (for a mere couple of hundred quid back then) by those 'middling cvlasses' we hear so much about. BUT... 

That is not how it turned out from what i learned in ther 50s and 60s. Mane of the houses were bvought by 'landlords' and, just as tpoday, ended up being l;ets in a variety of forms.

86 Frobisgher when we moved in as tenants in 1946 had been occupied by two family units. The one that left to oproviude us with a two storeyt, two bedded house to rent and a one room and kitchenette upstairs at the froint occupied by a Mrs Bagott5. She was a distant relation of my father and it was she that had told a relative of the availability of the house when we were bombed out of Streatham in 1944. It took over a year for the family to go however!

Mrs Bagott, a strange old lady who genuinely wore bombazine and scarred he bejabers out of me die the following year and we took opver the whole house. And furtherbut the houses I knew in Frobisher were these:

90 - the Perry's - whole house, owned;

88 - the Evans - whole houses, rented;

86 - the Woods, whole house, rented;

84 - The Misses Sharp - whole house, owned;

82 - Flats - down Mrs War, up Mrs Doutbfire yes!) , rented;

87 - flats - down Len Towell; up Len (! yes) Pinsent rented;

After that I do not know the ownership.

But it shows how the pattern went.

In 1954 we were offered our house for £450. My father refused it.

I believe it recently sold for over £700,000. 

Permalink Reply by John Shulver on April 21, 2023 at 18:05

Interesting how a query can open up all sorts of findings, eh !   We lived in Harringay Road, other side of Green Lanes from the now quaintly known as 'Ladder' (in our day The Ladder was simply known to us as 'the hills').  Anyway Mum and Dad moved into number 40A Harringay Rd in 1948.  Standard looking terraced house but with 2 fully self contained 'flats', 2 front doors set at right angles into recessed porch.  We had downstairs which had the luxury of back and front garden. Our front door was to left of porch, straight into front room (also served as bedroom), leading to a narrow inner hall with bedroom off, down couple of steps into kitchen/living room.  Cold water tap in kitchen, outside loo. Upstairs flat was 40B, the stairs up leading directly from road facing front door..  Exact same mirrored arrangement next door, numbers 38A and 38B.  Mum and Dad and 4 kids lived there. Dad died in 1955.  We remained in that 'house' till 1970 when Mum was eventually offered a council maisonette with 'mod cons' just off White Hart Lane.  I moved out in 72.  It never replaced my 'home' at 40A despite the mod cons on hand.  I always presumed 40A/B were purpose built as 2 separate units.  I think there may have been a few other houses built as such.  And maybe Harringay Road was for lower class ??  I believe it was developed before The Ladder houses ?

Permalink Reply by Geraldine on April 21, 2023 at 18:26

Interesting, John.  I always wondered how those double doors to one house worked.  I suppose later they would be called maisonettes.

Permalink Reply by John Shulver on May 1, 2023 at 17:43

Don't know about that Geraldine because the maisonette we moved into had upstairs and downstairs but we always referred to it as a 'flat'.  Likewise we always referred to 40A as a 'house'.  Warm childhood memories. 

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