Thought to be a temporary solution to the housing crisis of the post-war Britain, the prefabricated houses were supposed to last only ten years. But almost sixty years later, hundreds of them are still lived in, from South London to Newport (Wales) via the outskirts of Birmingham.
After the Second World War, 150.000 prefabricated houses were built in the most badly bombed towns in the UK. Created to host homeless families with young children, these “palaces for the people” as they were called at the time were synonymous not only to comfort and luxury but also to freedom. They were designed for the nuclear family.
Left: The "Downham prefabs", Catford, South London; Right: Jack, in his Redditch prefab.
