Kitchen from 1916

The latter were know as 'blind-backs' but the distinction is moot as they were almost the same to live in. Being built around a courtyard was actually an advantage as it meant that drainage, laundry, drying and toilet facilities could be easily shared. Laundry was often done outside with a wash tub and dolly and hung up to dry across the yard and always on a Monday. Any woman who failed to do her laundry on Monday faced the wrath of her female neighbours. The stench of Persil from the open drains was overpowering on a hot summer's day and it was always Persil. Back-to-backs which faced directly onto the street were rare in Coventry but they did exist in areas like Spon End and Hillfields. Few if any survived the war.

The kitchen in the house that I grew up in, in Coronation Road, had red quarry tiles on the floor and a built in boiler that had space for you to light a fire under it. I can't ever remember the boiler being used for the washing but I do remember mum boiling Christmas puddings in it! We also had a large wooden dresser that I can't remember much about. Dad pulled the dresser down and dismantled the boiler when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The coal house and the lavatory were outside. I hated going out there on cold dark winter nights.

When I was a nipper we dreaded Sunday nights, because my old mum would light a fire under the copper in the scullery, and sit us in it and scrub merry hell out of us, if you were first it wasn't too bad but the others would moan because the water had got too hot, mum would keep adding cold water to cool it down.

Ooo, Tricia, I have an imaginary vision of you sitting in the boiler and being slowly simmered coming up to boiling. Same for you NormK, how many of you were there? And they were the good old days!