Heaton Park Prefabs

[uk2003]

Barbara/Annie

Cannot say I do remember the prefabs Annie, had to ask my mum the location and yes it was used by the military during ww2.

Heaton Park was our play ground for years as kids, there cannot be a inch of the park I have not explored as a youngster. Collecting golf balls in the lake, working on the boating lake, digging up bullets, climbing through underground drains "think that was dangerous" looking for coins after the fairs have left "we knew where the lads took the girlfriends" so change was often dropped on the floor - nudge,nudge, wink,wink say no more

Use to go running round St Margarets Church, which was only a couple hundred feet from the school, but doing my family research have found rellies in it.

My mums family line (Hilton) go back hundreds of years in the St Margarets area then called Rooden Lane

Looks like the challenge now is to find some photos of them houses 

JPEG REMOVED "BREACH OF GOOGLE EARTH COPYRIGHT"

[aggiebagwash]

I was brought up in the prefabs at the bottom of Sheepfoot Lane and I can assure all of you they didn't have 'round roof's with windows let in and both estates had the same prefab design. I know because my Uncle and Aunt lived in the ones at the top of Sheepfoot  Lane. They were rectangular boxes with pitch roofs and a small 'coal shed' which had a round roof in the garden and you could tie rope to the top over the door and make a swing. They consisted of a lounge with an open fire, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms with a large hallway.

The kitchens were 'fitted' and had a boiler for washing, a gas cooker, a 'drying rack, and a fridge. The bathroom had a conventional 3 piece suite. As you entered the bathroom from the hall there was an 'airing' cupboard on the right. The sink had cupboards underneath as well.  There were two bedrooms the largest had fitted cupboards on the right as you went through the door with drawers underneath. The other bedroom I don't think had any fitted cupboards.

They were cold in the winter and warm in the summer but I have lots of happy memories playing in the park both winter and summer.

I am sure I have got a few photo's somewhere showing most if not all of our prefab I will see if I can find them.


The military camp was close to St Margaret's but had disappeared by the early 50's and wasn't near the two estates. The estates were built and opened in 1947 onwards for ex-WW2 soldiers and those dislaced by war time bombing.



Margaret

[old rowley]

as an ex-prefabby meself I find the subject of these dwellings emotive and Margarets description of them is spot on.

old rowley

[tony h]

Great minds Ken,
I was going to Google Earth tonite to see if footprints would be visible 'a la time team'

Was also remembering this morning what we did at the 'experimental' school and a pattern emerged. We made hot air ballons out of coat hangers and tissue paper, and used cotton wool and meths burners to send them up. Seem to remember some geography projects and other 'making bits' activities. So perhaps it was experiments we were doing rather than experiments on us

What does Dot remember

You can see the school, right and down from prefabs and below the left tip of the lake. EDIT silly me, you've already marked it up

Sorry Barbara, off topic again

cheers
tony

[uk2003]

Sorry Barbara off topic

Tony google earth at this location 15*25'33.33*S & 49*40'55.59*E (amazing close up)

Lets keep fingers crossed Margaret can find some photos of the prefabs

Ken

[Barbara.H]

S'all right Tony & Ken, you're still in Heaton Park so it counts! 

Wow Margaret, I guess I must be remembering the 'coal sheds' and inflating them (mentally speaking) to be the entire house!  I do remember the front door opening into a fairly spacious room (or maybe the large hall) and Grandad's bedroom was off to one side. The fitted kitchen I also remember with boiler, cooker and fridge; my mum replicated the arrangement in her own home later and did not replace her boiler with a modern washing machine until  the mid-1990s! She had the wooden tongs for lifting the washing out as well.

The family moved there from Moston. Langworthy Road I think; that was their address before the war anyway. We never visited Heaton Park much after Grandad died. Ooh if you could find a photo I'd be made up! 

Barbara

Oh and the race track, was that for horse racing? As opposed to dogs or people? Seem to recall a painting of a horse race in Heaton Park in the Mosley St Art Gallery.

[liverpool annie]

Here's the ones we lived in !! 

[old rowley]

just like the ones that I lived in as a nipper Annie

old rowley

[aggiebagwash]

The prefabs were pulled down circa 1961 and families from both estates moved into new houses that were built in Moston, Blackley, Langley etc.

I think the race track you are talking about was part of the 'White Heather' Camp which was near to what is now the end of the tram track. It had a running track, open air swimming pool (which I think is still visible in the wooded area close to the tram track)

At the top of the hill there was an arched wrought iron  frame with the name on it and I think it was built between the wars as a Health Club for the benefit of local people. I tried to find out a little more about it when I did an MA but there is no documented evidence still in existence unfortunately.


Margaret