Old habits die hard! That was the message for tenants moving into the brand new houses at the Crescents in Springtime 1922. When people were given their new homes, some found it difficult to break with renting space and bedrooms to lodgers or boarders! Those cramped, overcrowded miners homes they had once frequented, were in the past and people now had spacious homes….and that for some meant space to be let!
The situation was not to be tolerated. These were council homes for families and not for creating overcrowded situations again. Local authorities sent out letters officially notifying that all those who have boarders must clear them out of their houses at once.
It appears in order to pay the rent some families at once upon moving in, let one or more of their rooms out to young married couples, and in some cases two couples were housed in two different rooms in the one house! The notice to leave expired in mid March 1922, and some of the lodgers did clear out, but it took until the end of 1922 for the situation to be sorted, and I suspect lodgers continued for many years afterwards, unnoticed by the council!
From the forthcoming encyclopaedia, “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2019
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said:
Jiae Jiae I can verify that they did Also when the oldest child got married the young couple would rent the front room(bedroom or parlour, if they had one) from their folks ( at a good price) until they could rent a single end or room and kitchen for themselvesand from there wait their turn for a cooncil hoose , usually when family was on the way Once they were settled oot the hoose ,the next oldest child could then get married and repeat the process. You had to just wait your turn something the young don’t understand nowadays, it was just how it would go. Mostly it was the bride’s mammy that provided the room but not always!