Why were terraces built with the communal access between the house and garden?

[MotionActivatedDog]

I’ve lived in a house like this and there are lots were I live. All originally council built properties. I never understood why the shared access was between the houses and garden (diagram 1) instead of at the bottom of the garden. (Diagram 2)

For me having small children and a dog it was a nuisance as I couldn’t ever leave my back door open for them to potter in the garden. It also meant people were walking right past my kitchen window as we were eating dinner.

Does anyone know why they were built this way?

I've known a lot of terraced properties in my life and never seen that.

Really?? There are so many of them here.

So you have to walk over a communal alley way/path to get to your garden? Do you have fencing around both, so go through 2 gates? Just can't imagine this.

I have never seen any properties like that either! Alleyway always at the back!

I have seen a row of four terraces and the one second from the right had legal access to the side gate of the end terrace on the right in order to allow gardeners/workmen in and when they wanted to walk their rubbish bags round to the street.

there are lots like that in my city

@Eleoura

So you have to walk over a communal alley way/path to get to your garden? Do you have fencing around both, so go through 2 gates? Just can't imagine this.

Yes. You exit your back door and are immediately on the communal alleyway, it is about 10 feet across to your garden gate. Just one gate into the garden from the alley. No other way to get in or out of the garden.

I'd never come across this before but visited a friend at the weekend whose house is like that.

There are a few of those round here (Yorkshire) no idea why

I’ve never understood them. They don’t make practical sense to me but I assumed there must have been good reasons for it at the time they were built.

We have some in our large town in Hampshire. I would hate it.

Lots of the houses that have this set up come up for sale at very reasonable prices and if it weren’t for the alley I’d be buying one. My old house (I rented it) was one of them and I’d loved to have moved back except for the alley set up.

I live in a Victorian terrace exactly like that. I think it was for dragging bins, letting the coal be delivered, etc. I know our toilet and coal bunker were built in the yard close to the house rather than in the grassed garden area. So maybe that was why.

There are some near me OP, which are old mine workers cottages.

I wonder if it was due to delivering coal to the back of the house- quicker route, especially if the bottom of the gardens back onto a railway or are inaccessible?

What stops the row of houses just agreeing to adjust the layout? Seems like the sensible approach assuming there's access to the alley?

Because you could then take away household and garden refuse away without having to trek it through the house! Coal deliveries and all sorts fo things that were evry day when the huses were built but we no longer do!

It's one of a few versions, all built when philanthoprosts, factory woners etc were tryin gto make the lives of their workers better. Some of the variations are odd and often reflect the weid understanding of the 'lower classes'. Others would have been bloody marvellous.

You version would have been bloody marvellous in many ways - ash, clinker etc would go straight out to the alley and not contaminate any of the garden, which would have been used for veg and/or pigeons. I t would act like a big boot room!

@Kerberos

What stops the row of houses just agreeing to adjust the layout? Seems like the sensible approach assuming there's access to the alley?

I’m not sure. When I lived there lots of the houses were rented so I’m guessing landlords who owned them didn’t really see any need to spend money on something that didn’t benefit them.

I think it was envisioned that the garden would mainly be used for growing vegetables rather than for children to play in. The alley way was probably for easier access to the coal hole.

There are other ways of organising things but I suppose it just depended on what was customary on the area.

Because you could then take away household and garden refuse away without having to trek it through the house!

You can do that in the set up in diagram 2. I live in a terrace like diagram 2 right now.

I think it was envisioned that the garden would mainly be used for growing vegetables rather than for children to play in.

Ahhh yes. This makes sense.

I’ve never understood them. They don’t make practical sense to me but I assumed there must have been good reasons for it at the time they were built.

Imagine there is a toilet block at the end of the alley.

Council houses were often built with large gardens as you were expected to grow your own veg.

There can be other reasons eg to allow access to sewers or utilities or as others have mentioned for deliveries of coal or milk.

I remember the oil men giving off about having to haul their pipe up the alley when delivering and I would tell them to be glad they weren’t delivering coal!

I've lived in a house where the right of way was right be the houses like that (not a formal alley way as such).

It does seem illogical!

In other places its between the gardens. I've also seen it between the houses (in pairs) with the upper floor covering the passage way.

Imagine there is a toilet block at the end of the alley.

Could have been. No sign of one when I lived there but maybe there was originally.

I live in one but luckily I’m at the end of the line. But I would not use the access except for exceptional circumstances. I mean bikes etc come through the house. I would hate for someone to traipse past my window in a daily basis.