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SE2734 : Back to Back Houses, Burley, Leeds SE2734 : Back to Back terrace houses, Bankfield Road

Richard T These pictures bring back memories of my childhood in Leeds. My paternal grandparents lived in a back-to-back terrace in Luxor Avenue, Harehills, very similar to these. It was, I think, a type 111, with a small front yard, and, as far as I can remember, the smaller second bedroom made into a bathroom and the attic room improved. The scullery was tiny but adequate, and although the accomodation was not extensive, I remember it as being cosy & comfortable. It housed 2 adults and 3 children. There was a big white enamel sink in the cellar, where my grandmother did her washing. My last visit there was just before she died in the mid - 1970's. The house is still there now.

My maternal grandparents lived in Middleton Terrace, off Stony Rock Lane. This was much more upmarket - a through terrace! It was still very small, though. My mother was one of six children, the first of whom died in infancy. There were two bedrooms and an attic room. My uncle, the only surviving boy, had the small bedroom, while the four girls shared the attic bedroom. There was no bathroom - the privy was down some steps outside, and they had a portable tin bath! As small children visiting, the outside loo was a novelty to us! There was a yard front and back. The front door opened straight into the living room, which had the big old fireplace range with side oven. This was the only heating in the house. The scullery was at the back of the house.

My grandfather died before I was born, due to blood poisoning following a severe dog bite, so I never knew him. My grandmother lived in the house until the late 1960's, when she left to live with my aunt in Burnley. Eventually all the old terraced houses along Stony Rock Lane were demolished and new housing built. My parents lived for years in Chapel Allerton, where I was mostly brought up, but after they retired they moved back to one of the 'new' houses off the Rock (as it is known locally), where they were delighted to find several other former neighbours from the Middletons who had also gone back to their 'roots'. Will see if I can find some old photos.