Volume: Construction of Ministry of Works Easiform Houses in Bristol

Date:: 1944 - 1949

Location:: City Of Bristol

Reference:: PSA01/04/H00048

Type:: Volume containing Photographic material

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Description

A collection of 23 black and white negatives, 4 of which are glass plates. The images show the construction and completed interiors of Easiform houses in Bristol. Easiform was a method of rapid construction pioneered by the John Laing construction company in 1919. Around 5,000 homes were built using the Easiform Type 1 method during the interwar years. The construction method relied on casting concrete in-situ and was very adaptable, giving rise to a wide variety of Easiform dwellings. After the war the Temporary Housing Act of 1944/5 intended to alleviate the acute housing shortages of the immediate postwar years, ensuring that Easiform Type 2 was adopted by the Ministry of Works. The Ministry was the government department tasked with the organisation and efficiency of the push for housing construction. Around 85,000 Easiform houses were built after the war. Many Easiform houses remain standing in 2019, and unlike other forms of modular, prefabricated construction, they were not rendered defective by the Housing Act of 1984/5.

13 of the 23 images have been catalogued and scanned as part of a 2019 project.

The original Ministry of Works storage envelope lists the operator as “T”.

Content

This is part of the Sub Series: PSA01/04/H Housing; within the Series: PSA01/04 Negatives; within the Collection: PSA01 Property Services Agency

This Volume is divided into 23 Child Records

This Volume contains the following materials:

Photograph (Negative): 23

Rights

Source: Historic England Archive

Keywords

Mid 20th Century Prefabricated House, Construction