Ramblings of Ru

Today we visited a National Trust property in Birmingham called the Birmingham Back to Back’s. This was an interesting and humbling (if that’s not too trite a word) experience. Firstly, the reason I found it humbling, my mothers side of the family lived in a back to back just up the road from there. They lived there at the turn of the 19th Century, were button/badge workers and had 3 generations living in the house, one grand parent, mother and father, five children and a lodger. So there were 9 people living in 3 or more likely 2 rooms, working a 70 hour week and having no running water and sharing an outside loo (well bucket) with up to around 60 other people. So to see this and to know how comfortable we live now is humbling.
The interesting part is, I guess, a voyeuristic one, to see first hand how the poor lived is, I feel, far more interesting than visiting a stately home. To see how they decorated the rooms, how they cooked and lived their lives. How they coped without privacy, entertained themselves and how their hard lives shortened their lives. I would have been an old man at my age, if I had lived that long.
It was interesting to see that they flavoured their food with spices such as cloves, star anise and nutmeg. I wonder what they would have thought of our bland English food that is served up in many homes today?
Bedrooms packed with children and even in one house we saw the children’s bedroom was shared (with a blanket acting as a separator) an unmarried couple lodging with the family (total people sleeping in the room – 6, 4 children sleeping top to toe in a bed).
Strangely the 1840 home, which housed a Jewish family and in fact the area was the Jewish quarter for much of its life, was despite the lack of modern trappings more homely than the 1930’s home that had electricity and running water.
I really would recommend a visit if possible, the lady taking us round was very well informed and entertaining.