| Inter-war housing
This subject has been dealt with in some detail in my
Urbanisation of Yardley, to be found elsewhere in the Acocks Green History Society site. Broadyates, started in 1924, was one of the earlier
estates, and for the next seven years there was great municipal
activity in the two Quarters. The Waterloo, Manor Farm, Tyseley,
Shaftmoor, Fox Hollies/Pool Farm, Stockfield, The Avenue, and Pitmaston
Estates were all built during this period. The municipal streets
are characterised by their geometrical patterns, which produce
some very odd-shaped gardens, contrasting with the straight or
gently-curved streets of private developers. One might generalise
that on council estates the houses are plain and the roads are
fancy, while the reverse is true of private ones. While the typical
be-mortgaged house is the 'semi', a council house may be in a
group of any number from two to six. The distribution of both
kinds of development is shown on the accompanying map. Only one
small estate of the post-Depression activity of the Council is
to be seen hereabout, Hilderstone, but speculative development
continued spasmodically until 1939.
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