To alleviate a desperate housing shortage after WW2 over 150,00 temporary homes were built in Britain between 1945 and 1949. As early as February 1945 it was announced by Rear Admiral Johnson, the Mayor of Beccles, that 20 temporary houses were to be built in the town and a site in St Anne's Road was proposed. The 2.5 acre plot was owned by the Co-op and was valued at £165. The estate was named Orchard Green after the orchard that once stood there and this newspaper picture shows the Arcon Mark V prefabs being constructed there in June 1946.
The contractors for the Ministry of Works were W. Armes Ltd., of Gt. Yarmouth, who built the twenty prefabs in what was said to be a
record time for East Anglia. Just seven weeks to the day after the arrival of contractors on site the first prefabs were handed over to the Town Council. Tubular steel frames were bolted to prepared concrete slabs and clad in corrugated asbestos cement sheets. The internal walls and ceilings were lined with plasterboard. Each detached dwelling consisted of a living room 17' x 10' 4", two bedrooms, one 14' 3" x 10' 4" and the other 11' 1" x 10' 3", a bathroom, a toilet, a hall and a kitchen with fridge, electric cooker, wash boiler, larder & folding table.
Floor Plan
It was reported that when the prospective tenants were shown round the new bungalows they were very pleased with the interiors and found the colour scheme of green and cream impressive, but most thought the asbestos exteriors were rather drab by comparison.
Number one was opened as a show house for a few days in July 1946 to let members of the public see
the modern amenities within. Over 2000 visitors attended on the first four days and comments were extremely favourable.
Instructions to the tenants on how to handle the electrical appliances were given by the East Anglian Electric Supply Company, followed by a demonstration of how to cook with electricity at their Beccles showroom.
Number one was opened as a show house for a few days in July 1946 to let members of the public see
the modern amenities within. Over 2000 visitors attended on the first four days and comments were extremely favourable.
Instructions to the tenants on how to handle the electrical appliances were given by the East Anglian Electric Supply Company, followed by a demonstration of how to cook with electricity at their Beccles showroom.
The Borough Surveyor, Mr Hamby, was quoted in the local paper as saying, "while the prefabs are scheduled to last ten years it seems certain that with careful handling and repairs when necessary they will endure much longer". In fact they lasted thirty-two years and were eventually demolished in 1978.
Most of the residents stayed on in Orchard Green while the prefabs were demolished and the new sectional bungalows were brought in by articulated lorries to replace them. The scheme was carried out in four phases of five bungalows each and in each phase five spare homes were used to house those whose prefabs were being replaced. Tenants were in temporary homes for only about five weeks. Janice Potter and her mother were moved from no 1 to no 20 while the work took place. They watched their prefab being pulled down and their new sectional bungalow arriving on the back of two lorries before being lifted into place by a crane. When the new home was finished they moved back to their original plot with the garden they loved still intact. Although she was glad to be back in the same spot, Janice's mum always said she preferred her old prefab to the new bungalow that had replaced it. Mr & Mrs Marjoram who had been Orchard Green tenants since 1946 also spoke affectionately about their old prefab, but not everyone felt the same way. Mr David Pond of no. 16 thought his new home was "lovely and comfortable and warm". Mr Albert Amis of no. 17 commented that his new bungalow was warmer but there was not so much room as the walls were thicker than in his prefab while his wife Eileen added that she thought the new one was very nice and she was very happy with it.
Most of the residents stayed on in Orchard Green while the prefabs were demolished and the new sectional bungalows were brought in by articulated lorries to replace them. The scheme was carried out in four phases of five bungalows each and in each phase five spare homes were used to house those whose prefabs were being replaced. Tenants were in temporary homes for only about five weeks. Janice Potter and her mother were moved from no 1 to no 20 while the work took place. They watched their prefab being pulled down and their new sectional bungalow arriving on the back of two lorries before being lifted into place by a crane. When the new home was finished they moved back to their original plot with the garden they loved still intact. Although she was glad to be back in the same spot, Janice's mum always said she preferred her old prefab to the new bungalow that had replaced it. Mr & Mrs Marjoram who had been Orchard Green tenants since 1946 also spoke affectionately about their old prefab, but not everyone felt the same way. Mr David Pond of no. 16 thought his new home was "lovely and comfortable and warm". Mr Albert Amis of no. 17 commented that his new bungalow was warmer but there was not so much room as the walls were thicker than in his prefab while his wife Eileen added that she thought the new one was very nice and she was very happy with it.
Gwen Copeman commented, "When I was in my prefab and watched these new ones going up I felt like Cinderella. Now I'm getting my own I shall feel like the Queen in Buckingham Palace".
The photo shows Mrs Copeman with her dog Cilla watching a new replacement bungalow being lifted into position by crane.