Historic visitor attraction celebrates 20 years

Birmingham Back to Backs opened in 2004 following a restoration project

A visitor attraction showcasing Birmingham’s last surviving Victorian back-to-back houses is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Birmingham Back to Backs opened in 2004 after a project to restore the former homes on Inge Street and Hurst Street was completed.

In the 19th Century many of these houses were built across the city for working class families, as the population rapidly expanded in the wake of the industrial revolution.

They were literally built back to back, often they around a shared courtyard.

Les Millington and wife Margaret, both 78, have volunteered at the museum for much of the 20 years since it opened, saying it reminds them of their childhoods.

Mr Millington, who is a guide at the site, told BBC Radio WM his grandma lived in a back-to-back house and fondly remembered visiting her.

“It was very similar to this," he said. "They hadn’t got running water, gas or electricity. I can remember running up the yard and watching the trains go by,” he said.

Les Millington and wife Margaret both volunteer at the site

Construction of the homes was eventually brought to a close after they became renowned for squalor, disease and poverty, because of their cramped design and poor sanitation.

Most across the UK have since been demolished, while the four houses in Birmingham were restored as part of a project led by the Birmingham Conservation Trust.

The Grade II-Listed site, now owned by the National Trust, allows visitors to experience how residents lived in the homes from the 1840s to the 1970s.

Thousands of back to back homes were built across the UK in the 19th century

Mrs Millington, who works in the book store, described the former homes as “unique” and said people could see how times had progressed just by walking through the site.

“A lot of people who come here used to live in back to backs and they do get a bit emotional sometimes,” she said.

Mrs Millington said she had childhood friends who lived in such properties and she remembered going round to see them.

She praised the restored site for helping to preserve this aspect of Birmingham’s history.

“It is a totally unique place and we have the most lovely visitors,” she added.