585 & 587 Broadway, Chadderton

Image: © Whatlep Taken: Unknown

Classic pre-war semis built around 1938/39 on what was then still a new road, Broadway having been completed in the late 1920s. No road markings are present, since the rarity of private motoring in 1960 meant that parking on the main carriageway was of no issue. All the houses on this part of Broadway were built massively, featuring Accrington brick (so dense that even modern drills have difficulty piercing a hole) and roof timbers of size and quality unobtainable (and unaffordable) post-WW2. The two houses' paint schemes are absolutely typical of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Brown for one, eau-de-nil (aka puke green!) for the other. Both calculated to minimise the visible impact of pervasive pollution from a coal-based economy, including, of course, domestic coal fires. Central heating was 5-10 years in the future for most families. For a 2010 update picture, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1675903

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