Birmingham Back to Backs, Birmingham (must see)

Following the Industrial Revolution in Britain, large numbers of people flocked to the cities in search of work. Birmingham, one of the country's foremost industrial centers, built thousands of so-called back-to-back houses to accommodate the influx. The houses were often overcrowded and arranged around shared courtyards, with pairs of houses literally built "back-to-back."

A distinctive form of British terraced housing, the back-to-backs were eventually regarded as unsanitary. The Public Health Act of 1875 gave local authorities greater powers to regulate unhealthy housing, and Birmingham subsequently introduced a by-law preventing the construction of new back-to-back houses. They were replaced by by-law terraced houses, which generally provided better ventilation and sanitation.

The back-to-back houses were generally two or three stories high and were found mostly in densely populated inner-city districts. By the early 1970s, most of Birmingham's back-to-backs had been demolished as part of slum-clearance programs, with residents rehoused in council houses, flats, and new housing estates.

Groups of houses arranged around a common yard were referred to as "courts." Many of the courts were occupied by workers who also worked at home in specialized trades. They labored at such things as button making, glasswork, woodwork, leatherwork, and tailoring. There were also skilled trades, including jewelry and metalworking.

By the end of the 19th century, many of the ground floors facing Hurst Street had been converted into shops. Trades practiced there over the years included cycle maker, hairdresser, ticket writer, fruiterer, and furniture dealer. This type of housing remained in residential use at Court 15 until 1966, when the buildings were declared unfit for human habitation. The last resident left in 1967, although shops and workshops continued operating there for decades afterward.