Home Life

A snapshot of life at home, 1950s

A resident familiar with life in the 1950s provided the following information:

“The post-war houses had solid ground floors, with floor boards upstairs. Coal heated the living room open fireplace, behind which there was a back boiler which provided hot water. The airing cupboard upstairs housed a large copper cylinder wrapped in a big, thick, red jacket to retain the heated water. Later, houses also had immersion heaters installed.

The loft housed a header tank, a large aluminium tank of water with a ball cock to control the supply of water throughout. Gravity and pressure assured the successful operation of the system. Access to the loft was through a small trapdoor and was made possible by the use of wooden step ladders. At first lofts were not insulated, but later became so. In the Fifties, as television became popular, TV aerials were sometimes set up in the loft. Later, of course, they were attached outside to the chimney stack.

There was also an open fireplace in the larger back bedroom although probably little used. With the increasing use of electricity, electric fires could be positioned in the bedrooms and in the dining room if required. The living room fireplace had a mantlepiece and hearth.

With regard to the cupboard under the stairs, which was accessed through a door from the kitchen, this was sometimes referred to as a pantry and, in some cases, a larder. Shelves or racks might store tins of food etc in the days before refrigeration became widespread. However, many housewives tended not to store food – as is the case today – and, instead, bought food on an almost daily basis from local shops in Didsbury village. Of course, milk could be delivered by the milkman on his daily round.

Most post-war houses retained the two separate downstairs rooms and it wasn’t until decades later that it became fashionable to have the dining and living rooms knocked into one. This was more likely to be done by the younger generation couples moving onto the estate rather than by the older, long-standing residents many of whom found their homes to be cosy and comfortable and didn’t see the need to change especially as their children might have flown the nest.

Wall papering, carpets and curtains were also favoured by the older generation. Gradually blinds were adopted as they became more popular.

In the era before extensions, the tiny kitchen was largely unsuitable for family dining purposes and meals tended to be eaten in the dining room. It was possible, however, to eat in the kitchen provided fold-up chairs and table were used – but it was a tight squeeze.

In the days before television became widespread, the radio – or wireless as it was commonly known – was much used for news, sporting commentaries, music, plays and light entertainment. Children would occupy themselves indoors in all sorts of ways – reading books and comics; playing cards and board games; indulging in various hobbies; building things out of Meccano sets; playing with toys; making miniature railways and so on.

The 1950s was the decade that saw British comics at their peak popularity. The Dandy and The Beano had sales of two million copies a week each. Eagle was selling a million. Other popular comics included The Topper and The Beezer, to name just two. When you think that in those days – very little television, no internet, no videos – comics were almost the only source of entertainment available to children. 

Among the drawbacks of the houses built by R.C. Roy was the fact that they were not very sound proofed as the party wall between the semis offered very little noise protection. Another problem, especially for families, was finding space for storing things   - such as footwear, outdoor clothing, and prams etc. Storing a lawn mower and other gardening implements and equipment was also a problem.”

Children at play outdoors

Young children playing outside would have engaged in the usual pursuits, such as cycling, football, skipping, cricket, tennis, rounders, throwing and catching a ball, hide and seek, hopscotch, chalk drawings on their drive or pavement, chanting and reciting rhymes etc. The roads were carless for most of the time and relatively safe places for children to play and parents could keep a watchful eye out for them.

For older and more adventurous children, other outdoor pursuits beckoned not too away. Among these were playing in Simon Field or Stenner Woods; fishing in local ponds and streams for tadpoles, frogs or tiddly fish; climbing trees and so. This was a more carefree and independent era for children and they could be away from their home for hours on end and happily entertain themselves without being supervised by anxious parents. They would arrive back home when they were hungry and probably dirty.

In addition, some youngsters may have kept pets, such as rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, tortoises or pigeons etc. A pet shop existed in the village for many years.

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