pre 1900's

1920's

1930's

Pre 1900's

The property shown here was actually built in 1851 so qualifies as a pre 1900 build. As a DEA (domestic Energy Assessor) the oldest date we are asked to show and define on our RdSAP sheet is anything older than 1900. Typically many towns and cities pre 1900 in the UK had a concentric ring of development.

These were typically: Inner core of pre1900, Inner ring of 1890 – 1910 housing (mainly terraced), Middle ring 0f 1920 – 1940 housing (mainly semis) Outer ring of 1950 – 1960 housing developments and Outer satellites of 1970 – to date commuter villages.

Pre 1900 housing typically were a mix of styles and not muti-unit development. The streets were congested. The construction of the buildings were mainly solid masonry or historic timber frame and the use of local material was the norm. The windows were small sliding sash or casement windows originally with multi-paned glass, only being 2mm thick.

1900 – 1920

Housing became more consistent in styles as whole streets were now being developed. Onate brickwork features, gothic arches and gables became popular. Technology in glass manufacturing gave rise to larger panes of glass being available in properties.

Construction was still in the main solid brickwork but the rooms were now built with much higher ceilings. The properties had more of a front garden and the streets were slightly wider than before.

1920’s

This was the start of the ‘social housing’ era and the garden village movement with cottage style architecture being implemented. The properties were on larger plots of land than what was being used before. The houses were generally bigger with a return to smaller windows which were now back in vogue.

Reduced densities and tree lined roads with hedges lining the plots. Cavity construction was now more common and hinged casement windows became the norm.

1930’s

In this era semi-detached properties became the norm and large new suburban estates were being developed with local shops. The plots were increased from the plots in the 1920’s. Bay windows with multiple window panes became popular and common.

Construction methods developed and cavity walls became predominant in the provinces. However, London properties were still being built with solid walls.

Spaces for off street parking were being realized as well as properties having detached garages. Roofs were changing as well as now hipped roof line properties were becoming common.

1950’s

Council housing boom takes flight and large estates were now being developed using more traditional materials unlike the era of the 1940’s.

Utilitarian designs being used with concrete roof tiles being used and casements windows in place.

Modernistic architecture with flat roofs, porches and bays. Open plan layouts becoming popular and Bungalows started to be developed.

Large sills protruding from the properties usually made from crittle.

1960’s

Chalet style houses became popular with dormer rooms in the roof. There was still much conformity of styles within developments. Open plan rooms and layouts were still being developed with L shaped living/dining rooms or folding doors. The serving hatch from the kitchen was introduced.

1970’s

There was less conformity of style and the picture window became popular. These were large windows almost the width of the room and sometimes almost the height of the room from floor to ceiling.

The wood used was of a poor quality softwood joinery. Chimneys became rare as gas central heating with ridge level flues were much used.

In local authority estates there was much used rear vehicle access. The construction was of a very basic design which included porches.

1980’s

There was very little council housing built. It was the Margaret Thatcher era. Properties were built with high density in mind. Cul-de-sacs off main estate road became common.

The first initial fit double glazing arrived usually in a brown wood colour or woos stain finish. The windows were like a cottage arch window.

Chimneys returned for the living room only and there was a mix of house types built in developments. Garages return to the front of the houses and started to be integral.

1990’s

Different styles and materials were now being used in developments. A pastiche of all former styles. Timber frame construction increased in popularity. Use of shared drives for several houses.

The construction type was more for small detached houses. En-suite bathroom became popular and houses started to be built with a study and utility rooms in quite modest properties.

There were many flats developed which were close to city centre. Flats also started to be called apartments.

Round windows started to appear and the general size of windows got smaller. The integral garage stayed.

2000’s

The 2000’s continued in the same vain as the 90’s with timber frame being used more and more for build speed and insulation factor.

New estates with almost all off street parking. The estates designed with curvy roads to add character. Small pavements with grassy verges arrived.

Through lounges, studies and utility rooms remained as did en-suite bathrooms. Apartment sizes got smaller.

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What about the 1940’s I hear you cry as this was such an important time in our history. Because of the complexity and various build types in this era, mainly system built properties, we thought we would give this its own category.

There was a large post war council housing boom where system built properties were being used for speed of construction and to counter the lack of traditional materials and skills. This era incorporated pre-cast concrete, steel frames, sheet roofing and cladding.

There were many different types of system builds around the country and we have listed a few of them here under pre-fab builds:
To get more information about the 1920 and 1930 properties please click the more information button: