1975: Are PREFAB Houses FABULOUS? | Nationwide | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

David Taylor reports from Medway, where the local council is planning to erect 63 prefab houses on a clearance site.

Prefabricated houses enjoy many benefits over their on-site, brick and mortar equivalents - they can be built in a day and in use within a week. With much of the UK in the midst of a severe housing shortage, you would think that prefab houses were an ideal solution, but prefabs have something of an image problem in Britain - likely rooted in their association with post-war austerity. Is this reputation fair, or does it smack of snobbery?

For the residents of Excalibur Estate - an estate of prefab houses in South London - prefabs are the ideal living place.

Originally broadcast 24 January, 1975.

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[pennycarter]

My uncle and his family lived in one after the war. We were jealous. They had a hot water system, bathroom and indoor toilet. We had a rented terrace house, outside toilet and no hot water.

[awakeningalchemy]

Everyone I knew who lived in a prefab loved them. They were detached, you had your own private garden, and an inside toilet and bathroom, which we didn't have. They are now listed dwellings and rightly so.

[deborahwarren]

I had a wonderful early childhood in a detached prefab in Hainault Essex.
We were never cold or damp, we had a huge garden, it was bliss. Happy days

[Sue-vhfc]

It amazes me that similar types of houses are not utilised for the homeless or veterans. Obviously technology has moved on since then but the principle is the same.
There are lots of empty sites where these temporary homes could be erected! The government should be helping these people and this is one way to do it.

[chrisdstard]

I'd rather live in one of those than a tower block.

[colineastwood]

I lived in an Asbestos one with my grandparents, it was great big gardens and backed onto a brook and allotments, absolutely brilliant for an 8 year old boy loads of adventures and fun!

[museonfilm]

These folks just wanted their own place to live in, and to be comfortable.
Nowadays it's all about the perceived value of a property, which has nothing to do with living a full life.

[Jan-sntk]

I spent the happiest years of my life in a prefab. I loved it. Fitted cupboards and wardrobe reduced the need for furniture. The coal fire heated the lounge and the water and blew warm air into the bedrooms and heated the airing cupboard very efficient and comfortable. Id go back in an instant but the council demolished them all and built crappy flats on the plots. We had a lovely garden too . Lovely memories of my time there

[jonsteadisno]

The Prefabs around my area were very popular. They were a clever, short-term solution to a pressing housing problem. However, they were only ever intended as a short-term fix and were extended beyond their intended lifetime.

[daviddean]

Lived in one on Blackheath, from 1953 to 1960.My MUM, Dad, sister, and myself. Probably the best years of my childhood.

[upthebuffer]

"These prefabs were made of asbestos and wood" - lovely

[epicellen]

I was born in one. I can still remember the huge lounge, where my parents danced to rock and roll records. A big American fridge in the kitchen. Indoor toilet and bathroom. Lovely place

[thekarmafarmer]

People can say what they want about temporary housing. Some of these early prefab buildings still stand. We could do with 50, 000 of these built around Britain, right now. Minimum rents and `0` carbon (as possible). I call them `PREtty FABulous`.

[philtucker]

I moved to Canterbury in 1963 and there were still hundreds of beautifully kept Prefabs in the Barton road.

[shonamacdonald]

I love watching these archived clips. So interesting. And seeing how things where all those years ago. 😊

[tonybarrett]

Forget the prefabs, the old woman giving up her house so someone else who needed the space could have it, different times...

[annalieff-saxby]

I remember "prefabs" very well. There was a bombsite at the corner of Elgin Avenue and Shirland Road which was later filled in and became the site for four of them. My brother-in-law made me a "Prefab Doll's House", which my sister furnished, because I really loved them.

[heliotrope]

Having lived in one for the first 12 years of my life, I can say they were, very very damp, cold and uncomfortable.

[jimmacpherson]

I lived in a pre-fab in Paisley in the early 50's and loved it, we even had a
'fridge, which very few people had in those days.

[geit]

Why can’t we do this now to help the homeless?