The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Canvassing by Robinson & Grey (Electioneering)
Movers and shakers on the campaign trail in austerity Britain doorstep housewives on a Newcastle prefab estate.
From the collection of:
Overview
Gents in bowler hats doorstep voters in post-war Newcastle in this fascinating glimpse at Britain’s political past. The factory-built prefabs are brand new. These ‘palaces for the people’ were an inspired government solution to the acute housing shortage after World War Two, now nostalgically celebrated as icons for post-war peace and reconstruction.
We know little about this rare gem from the archive. It may have been filmed in the Blakelaw and Cowgate districts of Newcastle in the run up to the 1950 General Election. Some 156,623 pre-fabricated bungalows were produced under the aegis of the 1944 Temporary Housing Programme (THP) announced by Winston Churchill. The post war Labour housing minister Aneurin Bevan criticised them as ‘rabbit hutches’ but the radically modern Arcon, Uni-Seco, Tarran or AIROH designs captured the imagination of British people and many survived long beyond the predicted 10 year life span. Labour leader Neil Kinnock famously grew up in one and recalled that ‘it seemed like living in a spaceship’ at the time.
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