Wimpey no-fines house
Encyclopedia
The Wimpey No-fines House is a house
design by the George Wimpey
company and intended for mass-production of social housing for families. Designed under the Ministry of Works
post-World War II
Emergency Factory Made programme, they are now one of the most common building designs in Britain
. "No-fines" refers to the type of concrete used called "no-fines concrete" (concrete with no fine aggregates
).
compounded by the loss of city centre housing during the Blitz
meant demand for accommodation in post-World War II
Britain was particularly intense. Skilled labour and materials were in short supply and commanded high prices. Local government
around the country commissioned large building projects to meet the demand, and innovative designs like the no-fines house gave private contractors like George Wimpey a compelling proposition to give the state.
Wimpey's houses could be produced rapidly and cheaply, minimising the need for in-demand skills like bricklaying.
An example of no-fines concrete
construction, Wimpey's design was particularly successful and many thousands were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the late 1950s, the emphasis for public housing moved to high-rise accommodation.
Many examples are accompanied by a single-storey brick-built outbuilding, either in semi-detached arrangement set behind the house, or linking one house to the next.
By today's standards the houses are set in large plots of land intended to allow the occupants to engage in domestic vegetable production. This was achieved through siting in low-cost locations.
) cast in situ
. The concrete for the entire outer structure was cast in one operation in reusable formwork
. The ground floor was also concrete; the first floor was made of timber. Interior walls were a mixture of conventional brick
and blockwork construction. To weatherproof the structure, the external facade was rendered
.
) no-fines estates have taken on a more varied look with most examples being painted (often in light pastel colours) and modified with porch
es or extensions.
It found that the health issues were due to poor windows and poor heating; the insulating properties of the no-fines walls were adjudged reasonable compared to single skin buildings of the same period. It concluded that the buildings were structurally sound. Subsequent improvements to windows and heating facilities have brought the houses broadly up to modern living standards and the design is now seen as largely vindicated. Some examples now enjoy additional exterior insulation, which can be readily identified from its distinctive design. The novel nature construction is still a residual concern and many lenders make restrictions on mortgages against no-fines houses.
Wimpey no-fines houses are no longer in active construction.
Wimpey no fines houses can be found in sandwell, west midlands- predominantly in the Wednesbury area of the borough (Millfields estate). Riverside Housing are currently (January 2008) improving many of these house types as part of a PFI project on behalf of Sandwell Council.
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
design by the George Wimpey
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
company and intended for mass-production of social housing for families. Designed under the Ministry of Works
Ministry of Works
The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943, during World War II, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. After the war, the Ministry retained responsibility for Government building projects....
post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Emergency Factory Made programme, they are now one of the most common building designs in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. "No-fines" refers to the type of concrete used called "no-fines concrete" (concrete with no fine aggregates
Aggregate (composite)
Aggregate is the component of a composite material that resists compressive stress and provides bulk to the composite material. For efficient filling, aggregate should be much smaller than the finished item, but have a wide variety of sizes...
).
Background
A rapid increase in the birth rateBaby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
compounded by the loss of city centre housing during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
meant demand for accommodation in post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Britain was particularly intense. Skilled labour and materials were in short supply and commanded high prices. Local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
around the country commissioned large building projects to meet the demand, and innovative designs like the no-fines house gave private contractors like George Wimpey a compelling proposition to give the state.
Wimpey's houses could be produced rapidly and cheaply, minimising the need for in-demand skills like bricklaying.
An example of no-fines concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
construction, Wimpey's design was particularly successful and many thousands were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the late 1950s, the emphasis for public housing moved to high-rise accommodation.
Design
Designed to the specification laid out by the Ministry of Works specification, no-fines house focusses on functional design for family life. There are only a handful of variations in the houses built, and typically all variants are found on each estate:- 2-bedroom semi-detachedSemi-detachedSemi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
and terracedTerraced houseIn architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
houses - 3-bedroom semi-detached houses of which there are two styles
- a gableGableA gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
end at both sides of the house - a sloping hip end at both sides of the house
- a gable
- Short terraces of 4 or 6 houses, each of which either
- 3-bedroom end or mid-terrace
- 4-bedroom mid-terrace with integral ginnel for rear access
Many examples are accompanied by a single-storey brick-built outbuilding, either in semi-detached arrangement set behind the house, or linking one house to the next.
By today's standards the houses are set in large plots of land intended to allow the occupants to engage in domestic vegetable production. This was achieved through siting in low-cost locations.
Construction
No-fines houses were made of no-fines concrete (concrete with no fine aggregatesAggregate (composite)
Aggregate is the component of a composite material that resists compressive stress and provides bulk to the composite material. For efficient filling, aggregate should be much smaller than the finished item, but have a wide variety of sizes...
) cast in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
. The concrete for the entire outer structure was cast in one operation in reusable formwork
Formwork
Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent molds into which concrete or similar materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering moulds.-Formwork and concrete form types:...
. The ground floor was also concrete; the first floor was made of timber. Interior walls were a mixture of conventional brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
and blockwork construction. To weatherproof the structure, the external facade was rendered
Cement render
Cement rendering is the application of a thin premixed surface ofsand, cement and lime plaster to brick, cement, stone or mud brick. It isoften textured, coloured or painted after application...
.
Style
The regular, grey finish of the houses has led some to criticise the estates as having a bleak, concrete jungle aesthetic. This is accentuated by the layout of the pronounced geometric structure of many of the estates on which they were built. In more recent years (particularly since many were sold into private hands following the Housing Act 1980Housing Act 1980
The Housing Act 1980 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave five million council house tenants in England and Wales the Right to Buy their house from their local authority. The Act came into force on the 3 October 1980 and is seen as a defining policy of...
) no-fines estates have taken on a more varied look with most examples being painted (often in light pastel colours) and modified with porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
es or extensions.
Controversy
By the 1980s, political opinion had swung against social housing, and those living in it seemed to experience a relatively low quality of life and poor health. There were also concerns about the long-term structural soundness of the houses due to their novel construction. Parliament commissioned a report into the design of the houses and its impact on the occupants.It found that the health issues were due to poor windows and poor heating; the insulating properties of the no-fines walls were adjudged reasonable compared to single skin buildings of the same period. It concluded that the buildings were structurally sound. Subsequent improvements to windows and heating facilities have brought the houses broadly up to modern living standards and the design is now seen as largely vindicated. Some examples now enjoy additional exterior insulation, which can be readily identified from its distinctive design. The novel nature construction is still a residual concern and many lenders make restrictions on mortgages against no-fines houses.
Wimpey no-fines houses are no longer in active construction.
Examples
No-fines houses were typically built in estates of a few hundred separate dwellings. Examples are found throughout the UK, and include- Hesters WayHesters WayHesters Way is an area in the western part of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It is home to Gloucestershire College's Cheltenham campus and Pate's Grammar School....
and RowanfieldRowanfieldRowanfield is a neighbourhood in Cheltenham, England. It consists primarily of a social housing estate of Wimpey no-fines houses and low-rise flats, built around 1953, with Rowanfield School and a playing field to the West separating it from Hesters Way and also the older Rowanfield Road to the...
in CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held... - InnsworthInnsworthInnsworth is a suburb of Gloucester, it is a civil parish and forms part of the borough of Tewkesbury.It contains Imjin Barracks, the home of HQ ARRC, which moved from Germany in 2010...
and Elmbridge in GloucesterGloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham.... - Abbeydale in RedditchRedditchRedditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
- MiltonMilton, GlasgowMilton is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde.Building on Milton in Glasgow started in the late 1940s as part of a general post-war construction programme by Glasgow Corporation to deal with the housing shortage and slum clearances.The housing scheme...
and BishopbriggsBishopbriggsBishopbriggs is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The area was once part of the historic parish of Cadder - originally lands granted by King William the Lion to the Bishop of Glasgow, Jocelin, in 1180. It was later part of the county of Lanarkshire and subsequently an independent burgh from...
in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... - New AddingtonNew AddingtonNew Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...
in CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross... - EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
- LeicesterLeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in Rowlatts Hill, Beaumont Leys, Braunstone Frith.
Wimpey no fines houses can be found in sandwell, west midlands- predominantly in the Wednesbury area of the borough (Millfields estate). Riverside Housing are currently (January 2008) improving many of these house types as part of a PFI project on behalf of Sandwell Council.
See also
- "Pre-fab"Prefabricated homePrefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes, are dwellings manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled....
, another solution to the post World War II housing crisis - Boot houseBoot houseBoot houses were houses built in the United Kingdom after World War I to accommodate the housing boom following the war. They were named after Henry Boot, whose construction company produced an estimated 50,000 houses between the end of World War I and the start of World War II. Due to a shortage...
, a solution following World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...