Back to Back

Today is Sam's birthday (Sam is Ann's step daughter). So we met her in Birmingham with her husband Dave and our step-granddaughter Izzy. We had arranged to go around the National Trust properties in Hurst Street known as the Back To Backs, Court 15.

These are the last remaining example of courtyard houses in Birmingham following the demolishing of numerous other similar building put up in the nineteenth century. The term back to back refers to the type of build whereby a common wall was used to separate the houses which were one room deep, one house looking out onto the street the other onto an inner courtyard. This courtyard was accessed by a single passage way and held the common washroom for clothes and three or four outside toilets. Court 15 also included a sweet shop and a tailors.

The guided tour was very informative and lasted about an hour and a half.

This link shows some of the other photos I took on the tour. Unfortunately there are not many of the inside of the houses as this was not strictly allowed (though I did sneak one or two).