Interviews and Project Findings:
Housing in Darlington

"Q: What were the differences in the home?

A: There were no washing machines. The clothes had to be washed in a big bucket and then put through a mangle. There wasn't any hot water or baths. You would wash in a tin bath in front of the range. Also there was no cooker so you had to cook on the range as well. There was no flushing toilet, just an outdoor earth toilet that was emptied once a week by the middy men. There was a good community atmosphere. Everyone knew and would help each other."



"Housing conditions have improved, more and more people are owning their own homes. Semi-detached houses are becoming more and more popular, and many modern housing estates are being built. Back-to-back terraced rows still exist."



"Recently in Darlington there has been a change in housing. Many new estates have been built, each with newer and better facilities than the previous. But what do people planning on moving to Darlington think of these new areas? Is it good that there is better housing and more of it or is it taking away some of the valuable space? I asked somebody who was looking at moving to Darlington what they thought.

Q: Do you think that the more housing which has been built recently is an advantage to Darlington?

A: Probably yes, but if there wasn't any more housing then people wouldn't be able to come into Darlington as it wouldn't have enough areas for people to live. But any extra housing built takes away land which children could play on or just looked nice among on the housing. In the last ten years most of that land has been built on.

Q: When looking at houses in Darlington, do you think that the quality of housing has improved a lot?

A: They are much nicer houses built now compared to older ones but they are still slightly too small for our family."



"There has been a great deal of new housing developments in Darlington. Building is progressing constantly on the outskirts of the town, and a lot of 'green' areas are now built on.The council is presently updating the Firth Moor housing estate so the people have a better living environment, which is a big improvement. Skerne Park was also recently updated and my mam thinks that the inner housing of Darlington should be a main priority of the borough council."



"With the advent of the Stockton and Darlington railway in 1825, terraced housing took growth northward towards the station and railway works. From the 1870’s fine terraces of large Victorian and Edwardian houses grew to the west and south of the town centre, and beyond them villas and impressive mansions in Parklands. In the past 50 years the building of houses in Darlington has been constant and the town has grown immensely."



"Before 1900 the only houses available in Darlington were back-to-back terraced rows. The interiors were uncomfortable with cold floors and clippy mats. The only bathrooms were outside, with lavatories and tin baths. There were none of the modern conveniences we take for granted today such as automatic washers, freezers and microwave ovens. Before 1930 few houses even had electricity. Washing was passed in a tub then passed through a wringer, and irons were heated by open fires."



"More and more people now own their own homes, and semi-detached houses are increasingly popular. Modem houses are being built all over Darlington. Inside the home it is more comfortable, too, with cold floors replaced with carpets. All houses now have modem indoor bathrooms. Labour-saving devices such as washing machines, gas and electric cookers have changed home life from what it was in the early years of this century."