The prefab homes still standing in Moseley: How temporary ‘tin can homes’ became a local landmark

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Along a two-mile winding road situated in a leafy suburb of Birmingham where stunning five-bedroom houses sell for more than £1million is a conspicuous row of ‘tin can’ homes seemingly frozen in time.

That time is one of post-war recovery when the Government, keen to rebuild quickly after devastating bombing raids by the Nazi Luftwaffe, would turn to temporary homes in a bid to solve the country’s housing crisis.

More than 156,000 ‘prefab’ homes – flat-pack properties constructed in a factory out of a limited number of materials – were built across Britain on the orders of Winston Churchill, who had envisaged the problem even before the end of the Second World War.

Sometimes mockingly referred to as ‘tin can homes’, due to many being made from steel plate, the structures were only ever meant to be a stop-gap.

And so thousands were demolished within a decade and replaced with more permanent structures as access to resources improved. 

But more than 70 years on around 8,000 still remain, including a row situated on Wake Green Road in the leafy Birmingham suburb of Moseley – where sprawling five bedroom houses sell for as much as £1.3million.

The 17 steel-framed prefabs have gained somewhat of a cult following by supporters who see them as ‘a testament to and symbol of post-war recovery, innovation and optimism for a brighter future’.  And all but one of them is now protected with Grade-II listed status.

But half now lie empty as hollowed relics, sitting opposite semi-detached homes with two car driveways owned by high-flying professionals and in an area where houses sell for an average of £340,000. One five-bedroom property just a short walk down the road is currently on sale for more than £500,000.

Despite this, those still occupying the council-owned ‘tin can’ homes, which are rented for less than £100-per-week, insist there is no place they would rather be.

‘They’ll have to take me out in a box,’ said Margaret Butler, a resident who has lived in her pre-fab home more than four decades.

The 82-year-old said: ‘I think it’s nice to live here. I’ve been here over 40 years now. My mum died 21 years ago and dad died before that.

‘This house has been here since the Second World War. It hasn’t changed that much apart from having new windows and central heating and my brother redecorated it.

‘There’s no problem keeping it warm. Sometimes the rain leaks in from the ceiling a bit but it quickly dries up. It’s not a problem.’

She adds: ‘I want them to stay as they are. I plan on living here for the rest of my life.’

Brenda Grattan, 78, lives with her dog Gypsy in the first two-bedroom home on the row. She’s been there 10 years having been moved in by Birmingham City Council – which owns the properties. 

‘I was a school caretaker before I moved here. It was strange when I first moved in,’ says Ms Grattan.

‘I remember sitting on the wall across the road and looking over here and someone saying, ‘I think that’s the home the council has got you’.

‘I looked at it and I said ‘no, I’m not living there’. It was a shock. But I moved in and I spent a lot of money doing it all up. 

‘I had to have the whole thing rewired. There were pipes sticking out everywhere.

‘A man lived here before me and he had pulled one of the walls down, so I had to put that back up. I filled about 10 skips with all the stuff that was left here.

‘I lived here with my husband initially and there’s a family a few doors down who have raised two kids here.

‘One of the other neighbours I know has lived here a lot longer than me.’

Inside, Ms Grattan’s house looks like a regular bungalow – the walls are nicely wallpapered, the rooms are spacious and the garden is big by anyone’s standards.

Then she points out the kitchen floor is sloping – made obvious by Gypsy’s ball rolling across it – something which provides a stark reminder that this is no ordinary home. 

However she insists the property is ‘lovely’.  Ms Grattan said: ‘They’re a lot bigger inside than you’d think.

‘I turned the other bedroom into a second sitting room because my husband was always watching sport on the TV.

‘The council put me a shower in but I’m pretty sure all the others have got baths. I think it’s lovely.’

Ms Grattan pays £96 per week for her one-storey home and says it’s worth every penny – but there’s one thing she’d like to change.

‘The only thing I don’t like is the toilet,’ she says. ‘It’s like an airplane toilet, it’s so small.’ 

Pub supervisor Lucy Burkett, 24, lives with her boyfriend in the only privately-owned prefab on the street.

‘I’d never seen somewhere like this in my life,’ says Lucy. ‘I didn’t know anything about the history when we moved in.

‘My boyfriend’s friend owns it so that’s why we ended up moving here. But it’s lovely inside. It’s got two bedrooms and it’s been decorated really nice. It just feels like home.

‘We’ve only lived here just over a year and we’ve had quite a few people knocking on the door asking if they can buy it. They’re just a part of Birmingham now.’

The prefabs’ longest-living resident Lawrence Attenborrow, 82, moved to Wake Green Road 52 years ago with his wife Patricia, who passed away in 2020.

His daughter Lisa, who lives there and cares for him, believes her dad is the prefabs’ longest-staying resident.

Lawrence and Patricia raised three children there, and even slept on a sofa bed in the living room for several years so their son and two daughters could have separate bedrooms.

‘We’ve been very happy here,’ says Lawrence, a retired builder and factory worker. 

‘When the children were growing up, I said to my wife ‘we needed another place, somewhere bigger’.

‘But my wife loved it here. She said we’ll get a bed settee and sleep on that and the children can have the bedrooms.’

Asked if he plans to live there for the rest of his life, Lawrence tells me: ‘I haven’t got long to go now, I’m 82, but I should think so.

‘I’ve seen neighbours come and go. There have been loads over the years who have died here. You don’t often see people moving away.

‘People want these places, I don’t know why.’

His daughter Lisa adds: ‘I’ve lived here all my life, I was born here. I have lovely memories growing up here. It was always nice and warm and a lovely family home, with lovely wildlife out the back.

‘I was always very aware of its history. My friends would come round after school and say ‘you live in a funny house’.

‘My mum adored the prefabs and always said she wanted to die here, which she did.’  Lisa adds: ‘I’d love to stop here. It’s my home.’ 

As early as 1942, three years before the war came to a close, Sir Winston Churchill was thinking of means to combat the housing crisis.

Thousands of homes had been destroyed in Luftwaffe bombing raids, and the situation which would no doubt worsen once the 2.9million British soldiers serving in France, Italy, West Africa, and the Middle East were demobilised. A cheap and quick solution was needed.

Churchill announced the establishment of the Emergency Factory Made housing programme during one of his many famous radio broadcasts in March, 1944.

As many as 156,000 pre-fabs homes went up across the country,  with around 4,000 prefabs installed across Birmingham.

Various models made their way to Birmingham, including the 17 Phoenix-brand prefabs in Wake Green Road, which cost around £1,200 each to build in 1947.

The houses were constructed from steel plate over rolled steel poles and were favoured over other, flimsier, models.

David Humphries, a local pre-fab enthusiast, told Birmingham Live: ‘The specification was to build them to last just 10 years, but many of them lasted well into the 60s and 70s.

‘The people that moved in absolutely loved them. Most of the others in Birmingham had gone by the early 1970s, but the ones in Wake Green Road just clung on.’ 

In 1998, the 16 council-owned units in Moseley were awarded Grade II-Listed status – giving them extra protection in terms of future redevelopment.

Though it does not stop the homes being redeveloped, it does place significant protections on the buildings as being of ‘special interest’. 

Birmingham City Council have conducted some works since, replacing windows, fitting central heating and upgrading appliances – but much of the properties’ original features remain unchanged.

Plans are currently in the works to restore the pre-fab homes, though the council says it needs to source additional funding to help fund the project.

A spokesperson for the authority told MailOnline: ‘Birmingham City Council carried out various option appraisals and feasibility studies to establish the most appropriate course of action for the preservation of the Wake Green Road Prefabs with a conclusion that they should be sympathetically restored to modern day standards.

‘However, this is a very technically complex and costly project. The council have pursued alternate funding sources to help offset this cost including Heritage Lottery Funding and entering into partnership with Birmingham Conservation Trust.

‘However none of these options generate sufficient funding to deliver the works required without significant funding from the councils Capital Investment Programme so this project has remained on hold but the council are still committed to the works and bringing the empty properties back into use. 

‘To do this we are reviewing costs, revisiting funding options and considering phasing of the refurbishment works.

‘In the meantime with support from our local Estates Services Team we are tidying up and maintaining the gardens, dealing with any fly tipping and investigating the provision of unobtrusive security fencing/hoarding around the void properties.’