Although few remain, prefabs were once a common feature of our townscapes. Most were not intended to last long, as the post-war specification allowed for a lifespan of just 10 to 15 years. In March 1944, Winston Churchill declared a “new war” on inadequate and damaged housing. He promised that half a million prefabricated emergency houses would be built as part of a Temporary Housing Programme developed by a working group of architects, planners, and manufacturers. This target was later reduced by a third, and ultimately, 156,000 prefabs were constructed between 1945 and 1951.
To meet this goal, the Ministry of Housing utilised the excess capacity and skills of aircraft manufacturers, aluminium stocks, and production techniques initially developed for aircraft manufacturing. Eleven types of single-storey houses were designed and built in varying quantities. The houses on Unwin Road were built in 1948 and are of the Hawksley BL8 type. Sir George Dowty promoted the estate, and many of the homes were reserved for Dowty employees.
Other prefab estates in Cheltenham include Priors Farm (173 houses), Windermere/Ullswater Roads (100), and Hillfield in St Mark’s (50). There were also smaller estates at Brighton Road (8), Cakebridge Place (12), and Selkirk Gardens (26). The first prefabs in Cheltenham were erected on the Prior’s Farm estate a few days after VE Day in May 1945, and workers at the site broke a national record in erecting a house in less than half an hour.
The Hawksley SL8 type is distinctive for two reasons: it is semi-detached, and, unlike most other prefab models, it was designed to be a permanent home. It was manufactured by The Bristol Aircraft Company but distributed by A W Hawksley – a subsidiary of The Gloster Aircraft Company – from its large factory in Brockworth. In May 1945, Hawksley employed 3,000 at the site on Ermine Street.
Two-storey steel houses were built too. Some of these remain on Pennine Road on the Lynworth estate.
