These houses are as important as palaces an castles! Thank you for showing us!

These houses were in most large industrial cities, many people in my home city of Sheffield lived in them. My mum who is now 90 was born in a yard house in Bailey Street in Sheffield. She was the 7th of 11 children, all who survived thanks to my wonderful grandma. They moved to a 3 bedroom council house when the yard houses were being demolished and couldn't believe the luxury of having a garden and indoor bathroom and yet the kids still slept 4 to a bed throughout their childhood in the war years! My mum tells so many amazing stories of her wonderful, if very poor family life. I plan to show her your video she will love it, thank you!

My mum's side of the family are from Leicester and many of them lived in the slum courts like this. Nearly all of them were employed by the hosiery industry in Leicester. Between 1840-1860 there was huge depression in the industry which lead to a slump in wages, poor standard of living and starvation due to many of them not being able to feed themselves or their children. Likewise the slums were built with little to no drainage and as Leicester sits in a dip, they were often knee high in flood water when it rained hard and then paddling about in the sludge once the waters receded. Many of them lived in St Margaret's which was the poorest area of the city and I read that many of the court slums were little more than converted pig stys. Similarly the land they were built on were previous rubbish dumps and often the houses were slung up on top them before it had even rotted down. The area itself was known for being quite seedy with lots of knocking shops, pubs and beer shops. There was a lot of violent crime, domestic violence and arrests for drunk and disorderly conduct. Public health wasn't much better as the city was struck by regular outbreaks of summer diarrhea and deaths in infants were particularly high as a result. Leicester also refused to implement the smallpox vaccine until the 1853 vaccination act was brought in mandating that all infants under three were to be inoculated. This was due to a widespread belief that the vaccine would cause skin diseases in children. One of my relatives was actually banged up and fined for refusing to vaccinate their child as a result of the legislation.

I lived in a home like this and brought up two children it's not long ago I knew people who wore clogs too I could write a book on the way things were I. Now in my 70s

My dad lived in one of these in the 1920s in Icknield Street. He remembered as a child being bathed standing up in the sink in the communal washhouse (I think it was known as a brewhouse) - from what he explained, a metal sink with a coal fire below - the metal was a bit too hot for comfort - so he had to continuously swap from standing on one leg to the other to keep his feet from being burnt.

I’m 60 years old, I was born in a ‘room and kitchen’ home in Scotland. Coal miners daughter ( and proud). Thanks for taking us around, it brought back great memories. I’ve visited Birmingham, to see The Doors with Ian Astbury beautiful place with lovely people and great accents. ❤❤❤

I am in England for a month and after this video I want to see this museum so I purchased a full tour ticket. Thank you very much!

Wow! When reading literature, I've found it hard to imagine how so many people died, but here you really get to see the and imagine the squalor they lived in. Those poor children with their developing immune systems, living around raw, open sewage, no running water, in damp conditions. So sad!😢

There are still back to back houses in east Lancashire where people still live!

I lived in a back to back until 1965 in Sheffield, a bay window, very posh, we had 5 houses in our court. Thank you for sharing 😅

I was born in a 1up 1 down back to back house in Leeds. The shared toilet was at the end of the street. And we had a tin bath in the front of the fire. This brought back so many memories

It's great that these important examples are preserved.

I like how you shared what it felt like, sadness and the joy you felt in the house.

Loved this. My late partner was from Brum and I have been hearing about these for years. Nothing is more important than the lives of our working class ancestors! Backs to backs were great but you made them come alive for us !

I lived in a back to back house ...2 rooms up, 2 rooms down in Birmingham ... with my mum, dad and brother and sister .. we had a tin bath that hung up on the wall and the toilet that we shared with the front house was up the garden and ive just turned 60 yrs old ... still remember it very well ... especially in the winter we would all sleep in the 1 bed room to keep warm ... mad now I think back but makes me appreciate what I have now ... and khan and bell ...lol i had a few clothes from there and went to " The Rum Runner " ... so many good memories

Fascinating, and thanks so much for sharing your tour. My grandparents, born in Victorian times, had an outside loo (flushing) complete with cut-up newspaper on a hook/nail. My grandmother also used a mangle, which cracked shirt etc buttons if one forgot to widen the space between the rollers - most likely distracted by another essential household task. Some installations, eg fireplaces and kitchen range, would now be classed much-sought-after or quirky 'period features'; other fitments, not least the doors, appear superior to anything found in today's new builds. Everything about your video induced in me a deep feeling of sadness mixed with nostalgia, despite not having experienced any of it. How much easier we have it today, yet we still find plenty to complain about.

I grew up in a similar house, but it was a 2 up 2 down terrace. The rooms were much smaller than these. The noise was extremely small. There was no fireplace upstairs. We didn’t have a bathroom and the toilet was not a flush one either. Next door had a 2 holer loo similar to the non flush one shown, but the cabinet was white scrubbed wood. Ours was a metal can with a plastic seat. This was rural Staffordshire. There were 5 of us. Mum, me and my brother and my grandparents. There was not enough room for chairs for everyone so as children we had to sit on the floor in the evening. The zinc bath that hung in a nail in the yard only just fitted into the kitchen on a bath day. Me and my brother had our baths in the sink. My brother’s first cot was the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers. A bathroom and a flushing toilet was only installed in 1979/1980. The house still exists.

Great vid. TYSM for sharing ❤ My great-nan was raised in a 2 up 2 town terrace. No garden, just a tiny yard with space for a small outside loo & coal shed. She was one of 15 children. As soon as the children became old enough, they had to go into service, to make room. Only the two youngest siblings remained in their hometown because there was enough space for them not to have to move out, and because their parents needed their help around the home as they got older. Love your jacket x

While not in a little courtyard like these ones, there are heaps of back to back houses left in Yorkshire. Xx

I was brought up in a 2up2down built in the 1840s? Weaver St Openshaw east Manchester. 18 houses on one side of the street Mill wall on the other, Mill yard and canal at the bottom. I look back at my childhood with only happy memories

We visited the Back to Backs when we visited our friends in Birmingham, we're from the US. Wow, it was so interesting, filled with history, AND i found my maternal grandfathers name there!! Dont miss this wonderful site.

Isn't it awful how we used to live back in those days it was a crime to be poor people of today don't realise how lucky they are

In Sydney Australia there is a preserved set of homes like this. They are kept to show how people lived in tenements during the Great Depression period. It's visceral.

Im an American whose ancestry is rooted in Great Britain....your video was really interesting....thank you for showing the "real" way people lived... not just Downton.....

I remember Kahn and Bell from my student days. Also we all shared these back to back houses, there was no heating except one gas fire in one room. We thought it was normal.

I visited True's Yard Museum in Kings Lynn last year. Same thing. Tiny steep stairs and back to back court. The laundry room was a brew room too. There was fish gutting, cleaning and net repairs all in the courtyard. A smell that never left. The family tree history was on display, and an art gallery showing local artists from back then and now. I stumbled across it while on holiday from Oz. Thanks for your vid ❤

This is so beautifully put together. Thank you very much for sharing this.

Hello a fellow Brummie here although now living in Bedford. I lived in Summer lane and Vyse street in these type of houses. In Summer Lane the dads built a gate at the entrance to the corridor between the house at the front and the chip shop so us kids could play in the court yard safely. Ahhhhhhh the memories built

Hi, love your channel! Like you I'm a massive fan of social history. How ordinary people lived, ate, dressed etc. I never get bored hearing their stories . Thanks for sharing glimpses of history x

Buying the coffee probably made you feel almost as poor as the residents of the back to backs. LOL. Absolutely fascinating tour. Thank you for uploading. I will have to pay a visit.

Thank you for posting this. As an American with British roots, it is fascinating to see how people live or lived in other places. While visiting the Tenement Museum in New York City, which is similar to the Back-to-Back and which I highly recommend, my sister noted that it was a place we would have lived at the time. That's what make them special

My mother was born in a B2B house in Barford St in 1930, so it was really fascinating to watch this, thank you 😊

It's great to preserve historical buildings and their activities. More youngsters should visit such places and learn some gratitude for what they have today. When I was born, there was still food rationing after WW2, no bath, wash down in the sink, outside toilet in the basement. Dad even decorated a wall in the lounge with newspaper and made curtains from bamboo that he tied together. He was a bit of a bohemian, my military dad sung and played the spoons to entertain us. There was a courtyard behind us below, but only the pub next door had access to it for storing their beer barrels. The house had three storey's, the main rooms were a decent size but the kitchen was tiny.

first off what a lovely well presented video you made .i do have interest in this kind of history too i like the exhibition and the different date settings when you went to the window you remind me of me i think exactly the same who looked out of this window or who locked a door at night i get a image in my mind of a person from the time i like this vid nice work .

Absolutely love these videos and love you, Lucy! You're giving me the chance to see and experience things I wouldn't get a chance to.

My mom and her six siblings (one off whom died very young) were born and brought up in a back-to-back on the side of a canal in Oldbury (not far from Brum). She didn't talk about it much, but I'm sure it was not an easy life, especially as her dad suffered from PTSD from the trenches in WW1. Loved your video - your enthusiasm for the subject is fantastic. I'll defo be dropping by again 😊❤

Seeing this reminds me of how things were. I was lucky as I was brought up in a detached 3 bed, later turned into a 4 bed house with plenty of space. Makes you appreciate what you had. Love the video Lucy xxx

I've visited these back to backs a couple of times-once wasn't enough as there is so much detail and the houses are incredible. I also had fantastic guides-they really know their stuff and they don;t rush you round they give you plenty of time to absorb the atmosphere. Well worth a visit. The children in one of my groups got to try out the beds and handle some of the objects and seemed to really enjoy the inclusiveness. A very interesting place to visit

Great video, thank goodness the houses have been saved and are now protected. Look foward to seeing more of your videos x

Thank you for sharing history!

I was very happy that your video showed up in my feed! I really enjoy learning about how ordinary people lived their day-to-day lives, and your photography and narration is a wonderful way to enjoyably learn more.

Thanks for all your videos on the social history of Birmingham. I have had many family members who moved to Birmingham from my home of northern Ireland, during pre and post war years for work and stayed there. As I love social history too, it's brilliant to see where they may have lived. I'm planning to holiday family this year and will definitely be visiting places you have featured on your videos.

Thanks for sharing, it was lovely to see all the rooms and hear some of the history. Kind regards Angeline

Very interesting! Thank you for showing us these historical homes. I find working class history more interesting than castles or grand homes because it is reflective of how the majority of people lived.

Thank you Lucy for a wonderful look into the past, just came across your channel. Looking forward to seeing where else you go. ❤

I loved this video. We visited the Back to Backs a few years ago and loved every minute of it. I could not believe that people actually lived like that. Our tour guide was amazing too. I have now subscribed to your channel. Thank you for the great video.

In the mid 1970s I lived in Dukinfield (Greater Manchester) in a 2-up-2-down back to back. There was a kitchen downstairs at the back, and a livingroom at the front, into which the front door opened. Upstairs there were 2 bedrooms, and you had to pass through one to get to the other. There was a tiny yard at the back, containing a coal bunker, and the privy (outdoor toilet). No bathroom, just the bathroom sink. There was a back wall with a door in it, then a tiny "ginnel" (alleyway) with a gutter running down the middle, running along the row of houses, and then the back wall of the next row of houses. Every so often there would be an archway between 2 of the houses, and another dinner running through as a shortcut between one street and the parallel one behind.

We moved to the Isle of Man in the middle of the 1960's I remember there was a large estate of back to back houses near us which they were demolishing. It was an amazing playground! Everybody had moved out & it was so interesting to go into the houses & see what they left behind. Like you said all original fireplaces & stuff. There was also a shop which had been abandoned with loads of canned stuff still on the shelves.

Absolutely beautiful. Defo need to visit, love history.

Thank you for sharing

Such a great video I am from America originally living in Birmingham for over 15 years and had no idea this existed. I’ll be touring them for sure. Keep it up. These videos are great!

Thank you for sharing. This was so interesting.♥

Thank you Lucy. I hope to visit myself having watched this. Look forward to your next video. Have you visited Blists Hill in Ironbridge?

my family lived in a two up two down, one sitting room and one bedroom, a single gas ring in the pantry at the top of the stairs, mum & dad slept in the front room, the kids in the back room, No toilet, it was a cold water flat but it had an Ascot water heater on the wall, fill up buckets and fill a tin bath in front of the coal fire, after 25 years of living in that they moved into a newly built council house with a kitchen, three bedrooms and bathroom with hot water on tap, they only got that because I was born and the old flat was classed as severely overcrowded, did I get any gratitude, what you think?

We had many of these back-to-back houses where I live in north of Spain. I am from a little town and there were at least 17 of these groups of houses. Factory workers and their families used to live workers there. Now I think we only have two of them as museums (you can visit the yard and some of the old houses, wich have been restored with ancient furniture and everything) We call these places "Citadels" and they look so much as these you are showing us. We also have a modern citadel (when I say "modern" I mean that the citadel is on a 1970 building) in wich so many people still living nowadays. This one has much modern apartments people still buying or renting today.

Thanks for the terrific video! My Grandfather's family was from Birmingham before coming out to Australia as ten-pound-poms in the '50s. Great to get a bit of an idea of what life might have been like for everyday people around time that he was growing up.

(Full disclosure)As an American, I have never understood how the good, working class of England continue to tolerate the cost of "monarchy" and all the attendant expense of supporting "royals".

All that white privilege.

Hi Lucy, so happy to find your channel! The wash house took me straight back to my great grans little end terrace. Built on the side was the wash house complete with the brick boiler and wash board. She thought she was lucky to have it all to herself. My gran only ever washed on a Monday and used the boiler and the mangle until the early 1980's. Thank you for giving me some lovely memories x

Thank you Lucy for such an awesome tour! 🌺

That was absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much, not just for sharing your visit. But also for your informative and insightful commentary.

I knew under a minute your channel was going to be right up my strasse...really enjoyed it, ty 😊

Hi Lucy, I came across your videos by chance and what a find!!!!!! Thank you so much as I have gone back in time to my own childhood. I'm 60 and where I lived was in a row of old houses which ended up being pulled down due to the condition of the buildings. We had an out side toilet and 1 tap in the back kitchen. There was no hot water. The back yards were white washed and seemed very cheerful. I have enjoyed watching your trips and I am really interested in life during WW2. It fascinates me the fact that people had so little food and belongings yet they were happy to share what they did have. We are so lucky that we don't have to go through what these people did and it's nice to have a reminder of how far we have come. Many, many thanks, Diane x

These are like the houses my granny lived in and my dad was born in one, she moved out in the 50’s and the housing was demolished. I remember outdoor toilets

I really enjoyed this tour. Thank you for filming it. It's on my list for a visit!

That was brilliant! Thank you and keep up the good work 😊🎉😊

This vid popped up in my feed…oh my gosh! I’m an American who’s been OBSESSED with with British working class social history (mainly 20th century) for a few years now and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am by this! I NEED to see this tour! Have been planning our next trip to the UK with a focus on York/Manchester/Liverpool, clearly will have to make time for Birmingham as well!

I'm Soooo HAPPY KZfaq recommend your video!! I absolutely loved this video. Looking out of windows & thinking about what the residents would've seen or thought about while standing front of that window. It was Great. I just subscribed & clicked the bell (the 1st time I ever clicked the bell) Thank you for all of your hard work, time, & money you put into your videos. Sending Thanks & Love from the USA.❤

Hi...I didn't even know back to back houses existed until watching You Tube. I feel so spoilt at 60 as my parents always bought new build properties! Loved the video!

These videos! Love looking at the old houses!! Thank you!! 💖💖

Just a brilliant video ! Going to try and visit this place in the summer.

How have I not come across your channel before now ? I love what you do, I've watched 4 vids so far and I have subscribed. I don't live to far away from Birmingham and love the Back to Backs. Keep doing what you do and I'll keep watching. Best wishes Dave x

Thats amazing, thanks for doing this video!

Fascinating tour. Thank you for sharing.

Your enthusiasm is infectious. Go for it girl. When I was a child, I thought all my schoolfriends lived in a 5 bedroom dethatched house in its own gardens. It wasn't until I went to friends' birthday parties that I saw a different word. I felt humbled and enthralled in equal measure. Suddenly, my grandparents' home didn't feel quite so small. My grandparents' downsized in the 1960s from a lovely home in a nearby village, to be closer to my parents' home.

Loved watching video, now subscribed so I don't miss any more. Thank you

Hi Lucy Great video, I especially liked the way you were just being yourself and sharing how this place made you feel. You’re a natural presenter. I’m writing from Australia, sitting here on a Saturday evening bingeing your channel after just discovering it. A really cozy way to spend a quiet, cold night after a day of working hard outside in the yard. Hoping I’ll be able to visit some of the places you’ve featured. Keep posting!

Amazing history - beautifully narrated - thank you !

Thank you for sharing this. We went a few years back and enjoyed our visit so much. Was good to see the houses again. Remember those steep staircases. Hope you are having a good weekend. Best wishes Dave and Dawn ❤️

Hello Lucy from Gainesville, Florida. I loved your tour! Thanks so much for sharing! You're awesome 💚💙💜

One amazing place to visit. The tour guides our amazing.🐞

You've done a great job recording this, its easy yo watch and not quick at all. Your voice over is also very easy to listen to and your voice is nice :)

Brilliant tour

I usually “stalk” content creators to see if the first video I see is not just a fluke before I subscribed but you had me a the go! LOVE your accent, your knowledge and the passion to learn even more, the comments after seeing the exhibition, the looking through the windows (I do the same), not liking guided tours, respecting the people who sacrificed so much when living here. I could keep on but I will just subscribe. Thank you for sharing your work. Hello from sunny San Diego, California. ☀️

Hi Lucy I have stumbled across your channel by chance and I am so glad I did. I also love social history too. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Thank you.

Fascinating. I was born and raised in Moseley, Birmingham. Haven't been back since 2018. ❤ Subscribed.

I love this kind of architecture.

Thank you for this great video. I visited the back to backs in September last year, like you I love the feel of places. I’ve got many ancestors and family members who lived all over Birmingham in these houses and I loved walking in their footsteps so to speak. I can show my kids now, they will prefer your video to all my photos and videos that I took!

Interested in history, thank you for sharing.

What a wonderful channel!! I'm so glad this was recommended to me! Please do more history related content, but either way I'm subscribed with notifications on!!! 😄

Thank you so much for bringing this to us. VERY well done, including the pre-tour, loved it!

This is the first video of yours that I’ve watched, and it was amazing! Thank you for showing us those interesting homes. I’m in the US, so I had never heard of them before this video…and I LOVE history and learning, so I learned something new! Thank you. I will be watching more of your content. Already subscribed!

The interiors of the back to back houses are just like the houses that have been restructure at Beamish Museum near where I’m from in the Northeast of England. There are 1820s homes, a 1900s town, a 1900s pit village, a 1940s farm and a 1950s town as well as various other vintage attractions. The 1950s aged miners homes are a replica of cottages taken from Marsden Road in my home town of South Shields. I’ve only just discovered your channel and I love it 👍🏼

A beautiful slice of working class life, thanks Lucy!

❤ so interesting my own paternal family lived in same houses in liverpool too

Thanks for showing us really interesting love it 🥰 Also love your fleece jacket x

So interesting!! Thanks!👍

This tour was fantastic! Thank you for taking us along. You, yourself made it an authentic experience. After all, your mama was born in such a house. I live in Alaska, and I'm definitely working class so likely I will never have the chance to visit England. I am thankful for your channel! And yes! I just subscribed!

One of my favourite things about historic buildings is the smell. Castles have a smell, old buildings with old wood have a lovely smell. I have just subscribed, please more videos like this!

Thank you for a fascinating video. Watching the video certainly brought back some memories for me. I'm now 81 years, but still remember as a baby living for a short time in Latimer street, Ladywood B'ham before we moved house. I can still see the wash houses in the communial long back yard . It was open and made of brick with several big round wash tubs spaced a few feet apart that had a large wheel which my mum turned round to do her laundry.Either that or the wehel was used for wringing the the clothes after washing. . I also remember my big sister taking me for a walk in my push chair where I saw rows and rows of terraced houses on the journey.. I remember from one street I coud hear a tune being played which I now presume was someones radio. The tune was green sleeves, and though a baby it made me feel sad and nostelgic. Also I remeber being in the house and hearing the sirens followed by airoplanes flying over head and sounds of explosions in the distance. I was a baby yet knew a war was going on and understood everything my parents said. Dear old Latimer street I hear its no longer there and replaced with newer buildings.