Figure 1.-- The photograph here was taken in 1934. The location is in Silvester Street, but I'm not sure what city. Notice the environment, not a tree or plant in ight. Also notice the sewer running down the midle of the street. The street clearly was built before the advent of cars. |
Although England was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, substantial numbers of the the urban working class still lived in poverty. Many homes in working class neighborhoods did not even have indoors toilets. After World War I in the 1920s there was some improvement, but this varied regionally. Many areas industrial cities such as Liverpool declined because of the loss of large contracts such as naval building. Aftern World War I there was a demand for cuts in military spending. After 1929, British workers were affected by the growing world Depression.
The photograph here was taken in 1934. The location is in Silvester Street, but I'm not sure what city. Notice the environment, not a tree or plant in ight. Also notice the sewer running down the midle of the street. The street clearly was built before the advent of cars. The clothing that the children wear is also interesting. Notice the various footwear of the boys. The boy to the left of centre with his hand on his hip is wearing a three piece suit as if you look carefully, you will see
that he is wearing a waistcoat (vest). He is also wearing what look to be plimsolls.
An English reader writes, "Lots of old victorian terraced homes had an outhouse which was were the outdoor loo was. My mother brought up in a Terraced house without an indoor toilet and a bathroom always thought to have
these inside the dwelling was unhealthy. I was in London in 1967 and the house were I stayed had three large spacous bathrooms. I never knew until then that there were homes with more than one bathroom. I was amazed to learn this. Even into the 1960s there was still a substancial number of homes without a bathroom or an indoor toilet." [Fergusson]
Fergusson, William. E-mail message, September 23, 2003.
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