The 1950s Home (Britain's Heritage) - Softcover

Shepherd, Dr Janet; Shepherd, Professor John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1445665689 ISBN 13: 9781445665689

Publisher: Amberley Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

The 1950s was a decade of transformation, as Britain moved from austerity to relative affluence. After the Second World War, the incoming Labour government recognised the urgent need for new, high quality, housing and instituted a huge building programme which peaked in the fifties. Over the decade, of the 2.45 million homes that were constructed, two thirds were local authority social or council housing; many of them flats. Re-development schemes were especially radical in the major cities and the creation of new towns such as Hemel Hempstead and Peterlee brought a new and different mid-twentieth century vision of house building.

Many new homes were very different from what had gone before, but inside new fashions and materials had an impact on every home, old and new. By the mid to late fifties, the consumer society was under way, and the arrival of new materials such as plastic and nylon revolutionised home interiors: colourful formica , labour saving gadgets, bright new furnishing fabrics - all became affordable. The new medium of television was increasingly to be found in modern living rooms. The growth in car ownership meant garages were required by an increasing number of home owners. More leisure time also led to a passion for DIY and an increasing desire for homes with gardens.

This book is the perfect introduction to the 1950s Home in all its variety.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr Janet Shepherd gained her doctorate in Poor Law education at London Guildhall University. She is co-author with John Shepherd of 1920s Britain (2010), 1970s Britain (2012) and 1950s Childhood (2014) for Shire Books, and is currently working on a history of a little known radical twentieth century society, the Progressive League.

Professor John Shepherd has worked at the University of Huddersfield since 2010, and was previously joint director of the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. His publications include Crisis? What Crisis: the Callaghan Government and the British Winter of Discontent (MUP, 2013).

About this edition

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1445665689
• ISBN 13: 9781445665689
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64