Victoria Street
Queen Victoria was reputed to have a great sense of humour - but also suffered much with flatulence. The old joke goes... "Stop that, James" - "Yes ma'am, which way did it go?"
The Victoria and Ward Street area has seen great changes over the years. These were all rented council houses until Mrs. Thatcher brought in the popular 'right to buy', then many of them became privately owned.
The first picture on the lower part of Victoria Street would have had grey prefabricated 'Airey' houses until they were demolished in the 1980s. These were made from concrete panels and built in 1950-52 all over the country to accommodate the post-war boom and had a projected lifespan of only 15 years but easily lasted double that time. They were also quite spacious and most had large gardens, front and rear, but they were also cold in winter. The metal window frames never quite closed properly.
We lived in one in Ward Street and heard that there were only eight different house keys in use. That was useful because we could borrow Mrs. Symonds' key to let ourselves in if we forgot ours. There weren't so many thieves about in those days and neighbours were aware of who came down the street. They still do.
Latterly, these houses were seen as fire risks, after a serious fire burnt one down, and they had to have their walls surface-slimmed with plaster to reduce the risk. Then it was discovered that their reinforced-concrete supporting posts were deteriorating and this led to most Airey houses being demolished. Some of the privately owned Airey houses were repaired or had their outer shell replaced.
Airey houses were demolished in Unwin Street (now called Lower Unwin Street), Unwin Crescent, Ward Street, Dransfield Ave., Wilson Ave. and the lower part of Victoria Street. They were replaced with housing association (social) housing and old people's bungalows.
The second picture looks up Victoria Street to where the third picture takes over, leading into the 'old' Victoria Street of stone-built houses. The last picture looks down Unwin Crescent. There is a large grassed area to the left with a circular flowerbed that Mrs. Hattersley and her neighbours used to keep in top condition until the council took it over as a building site in the 1990s.
