Birmingham at this time was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and many people were drawn to the city from the rural villages with the promise of new jobs and a new life.
What they experienced was somewhat different with many of them exchanging a rural life in the countryside for days spent in the hot foundries and factories.
My ancestors were Labourers, Brass Casters, Pig Iron Welders, Cabinet Makers, and Gas Lamp Makers. Most of these jobs would have paid low wages and many of the families had up to 8 children or more. Infant mortality was high and many children did not survive beyond their first birthday.
BACK TO BACK HOUSES
William Street Courtyard
To cope with this influx of workers Back to Back houses were built to house the growing population. These were two or three story houses with one room on each level. Built around a courtyard, communal washing and sanitory facilities had to be shared by upto 12 families.
Living conditions must have been horrendous with these large families crammed into such a confined space. To supplement their meager wage many familes took in lodgers who had to share a room with family members with just a curtain dividing the room to give some privacy.
cutaway of back to back house
These houses were later to become the slums of the city but many families continued to live in them until the 1960's when they were demolished as part of a regeneration of the city.
The last surviving courtyard of Back to Back houses is on the corner of Hurst Street and Inge Street, Birmingham now preserved and renovated by The National Trust in conjuction with Birmingham Conservation Trust.