Title
Ronald Harrison, Description of Slums.
Subject
Interwar Slums
Description
Ronald Harrison describes the conditions of the slums he lived in.
Creator
Carter Buckingham
Source
EMOHA
Publisher
EMOHA
Rights
You may use this item in accordance with the licence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk/
Format
MP3
Language
English
Duration
2 min 1 sec
Transcription
I haven't managed to find anyone who lived in this little area like around here. They look particularly small.
Terribly small, and they'd got a communal yard at the back, most of them, you know, weren't your own private yard, you know, and quite a lot of them had to share toilets. They hadn’t all got their own toilet to share, probably, and, I mean, it improved a bit later on, but you had to go out in the yard for your, for your water as well. You know, a communal tap.
One person told us it was if there was a slightly seedier part of the area that was it, would you say that was so?
Yes, and Outram Street, as well, here at the back. Now, what had they used to call them - courts? There was Court One and Court Two, Court A and Court B. There again, you see, communal backs. You went into, like, you went down an entry and you were in a square and all the houses led off them at the back, you see. But the rooms was very, very tiny. And up Jarrom Street as well, because my father was born in a house up there. And they're very, very tiny, he said.
Did they from the outside, did they look particularly bad or…?
No, no, no, they… I mean, they kept them awfully clean, but the bricks, you know, were getting to the crumbly stage, you know, obviously, they weren't going to last much longer.
Terribly small, and they'd got a communal yard at the back, most of them, you know, weren't your own private yard, you know, and quite a lot of them had to share toilets. They hadn’t all got their own toilet to share, probably, and, I mean, it improved a bit later on, but you had to go out in the yard for your, for your water as well. You know, a communal tap.
One person told us it was if there was a slightly seedier part of the area that was it, would you say that was so?
Yes, and Outram Street, as well, here at the back. Now, what had they used to call them - courts? There was Court One and Court Two, Court A and Court B. There again, you see, communal backs. You went into, like, you went down an entry and you were in a square and all the houses led off them at the back, you see. But the rooms was very, very tiny. And up Jarrom Street as well, because my father was born in a house up there. And they're very, very tiny, he said.
Did they from the outside, did they look particularly bad or…?
No, no, no, they… I mean, they kept them awfully clean, but the bricks, you know, were getting to the crumbly stage, you know, obviously, they weren't going to last much longer.
Interviewer
Colin Hyde
Interviewee
Ronald Harrison
Location
Interviewee's home
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