Please can someone help me? I am looking for information on "Homes for Heroes". I think it was located in St Georges Road, Newbury.
Karl.
St George's Avenue, but these houses were built as part of a Newbury Borough housing effort between the wars and I'm not sure that any of the occupants, except my Uncle Jess, were heroes. Oh, he was only a hero as far as I was concerned. When I was a boy, he got me out of quite a few scrapes that I didn't want my dad to know about. Seriously though, there was a large estate of prefabs at the top end of the avenue known as Western End perhaps these were allocated to local heroes but I'm sure that someone on here will know.
There are some facinating local snippets in various local history books about Newbury's early foray into Council Housing. Apparently 'to save cost' the bedrooms weren't plastered! The book on Woolhampton also makes mention of a newly constructed row of houses; where new galvanised dustbins had been provided. That aroused the anger of the Housing Committee who had them returned. Interesting sociological insight!
This is St Georges Avenue taken from the air in about 1930. It is the street with curved sides top middle. The Newbury Borough council built several housing estates at about the same time, they weren't built to a budget and with the exception of Camp Close are all still standing. St Georges Avenue Camp Close Monk's Lane Skylings
The straight line running at a diagonal is of course the GWR line to the west and curving across the field at the head of St George's Ave is the branch line to Lambourn
Homes for Heroes was a phrase that was used after the 14/18 war but really applied to London and the slums. After the last war, the prefabs which were temporary homes were built all over the country and as part of the 'spin' to make people grateful for an asbestos box, the Home for Heroes slogan was resurrected.
I'm not sure about the 'homes for heroes' but I've always understood that St Georges Avenue was a "self build" project whereby the various tradesmen combined on a cooperative scheme to erect their own houses.
I'm not sure about the 'homes for heroes' but I've always understood that St Georges Avenue was a "self build" project whereby the various tradesmen combined on a cooperative scheme to erect their own houses.
I've never heard that. I know that between the wars there was a real shortage of work and government and local government were tasked with finding jobs for workers. House building was one area of public works that was carried out. Whilst there were tradesmen who worked on such projects as St George's Avenue, probably about 1920ish, that might have been allocated a house, they were firmly Council Houses right up until recent times when tenants could buy their home from the council at discounted rates. Because unemployment became progressively worse, in the early 1930's a scheme called 'The Newbury Work Fund Scheme' was established to kick start the return to employment locally. As a result of that initiative, Parkway was built and Victoria park had all the things built in it we see now, Tennis Courts, Bowling Green and the boat pond. The granary in the Wharf was converted into shops on the ground floor. It was also a time when large areas were made available locally for allotments so that the unemployed could at least grow their own food. It is interesting that a levy of 2d a week was proposed on all people who were employed, to pay for the cost of the schemes instigated to provide jobs.
Regarding the mention of the creation of Victoria Park, from the archives of the Bowling Club, in 1934 Newbury Borough Council gave detailed consideration to plans submitted by the Borough Surveyor for the suggested developement of the centre of the park. Plans consist of one or two bowling greens, a pavilion containing public conveniences for both sexes and two hard tennis courts,Costs were estimated as follows: Six Rink Bowling Green.....................£730 Two hard tennis courts......................£340 Pavilion with public coneniences.........£650 Total cost £1720 An attendant greenkeeper was appointed at a starting salary of 45 shillings pw rising on approved service to 50 shillings
St Georges Avenue and some in Rockingham Road also were built for Newbury's returning soldiers of the 1st world war, in the very early 1920's. Before that, the only houses in Rockingham Road, which just had names then were no's 1 & 3 and 2,4,6,& 8.
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