Neil (or sit)

What furnishings would a 1910 family, living in a typical, small terraced house, possess?

The housing stock of the era ,when newly built, would commonly have a front parlour reserved for sunday best, a wake or for hosting important visitors, a rear family room, back scullery kitchen with cooking range and upstairs, two or possibly three bedrooms.

I have omitted to mention a bathroom or an indoor toilet as even a well-to-do place may only have had a portable wash tub and a small compartment in the back yard containing a rather draughty and spider inhabited outside loo.

Floors would at best be linoleum or canvas covered. A carpet would be quite rare and certainly not fully fitted, any example being set within a painted floorboard surround.

The overall impression would be homely but a bit spartan.

Furniture would, in the best room comprise a chaise longue , occasional table, a desk or bureau and a glass fronted cabinet for prized heirlooms. For everyday family room use there would be a dining table and chairs, an armchair strictly reserved for the head of the household and not much else.

The items would be in natural wood, utilitarian rather than works of art and perfectly scaled for the rooms in which they were placed.

This will have been the tradition and arrangement in my Mother in Law's terraced  house.

She has been in occupation for more than 50 years having taken it on as a property that had already seen two world wars, including experiencing some affects of localised aerial bombing (there are still gaps in the nearby terraces) and many socio, economic and demographic factors.

Maureen and George fashioned the house into a secure and loving home in which to bring up their children. This took effort and investment including over the years a new roof, kitchen and bathroom extension, double glazing and  central heating as well as the usual routine repairs and renewals to keep the place weathertight.

For all of their character the early 20th Century terraced houses are now showing signs of age and a degree of non-compatibilty with the lifestyles and demands of the new millenia.

Being mostly of solid brick walling the houses can be expensive to heat.

There is an inevitability of damp and condensation.

Original floor layouts can be cramped and dark.

These are all valid factors for consideration when living in or taking on an older terraced house.

Perhaps of more significance  was one other factor.

I found out recently that the external door openings are just too narrow to allow the movement of modern furniture, specifically a two seater sofa and a single armchair.

The 21st Century trend in seating styles is for wide bodied and plushly upholstered sofas and chairs.

These are totally incompatible with the dimensions of my Mother in Laws' 1910 terraced house but this should not be allowed to deny her some well deserved luxury and comfort.

We did, ourselves, try to fit the armchair, a separate purchase,  through the front door but it would just not go.

It was time to stand back and consider the options.

a) Using the back door was out of the question as this was only accessible via a shared covered passage serving Maureen's house and that of her neighbour. That was a pity as the back door was in the modern extension and to more compatible modern dimensions.

b) Over the back fence would be an extreme route involving carrying the furniture around the terraced block and through a children's playground. Even then there was the roof of George's workshop shed to be negotiated.

The last resort was equally drastic.

c) We would have to arrange for the large bay window to be taken out.

For a common feature in just about every property, ie a window, it proved surprisingly difficult to find anyone able and willing to take out and later re-fit the 3 metre by 2 metre double glazed unit.

A few window contractors 'ummmed and aaaahed with the proposition. Others did not return my emails, texts and calls.

It was frustrating because looming up, within a few weeks was a scheduled delivery date for the two seater element of the suite from a national furniture chain. A local handyman eventually had a quick look from the streetside, quoted a price and as this was acceptable he was booked but strictly on his ability to both remove and refit on the same day over a period of 8 hours which was the delivery estimate.

The armchair was, in the meantime, sitting forlornly in my garage having escaped certain damage from not being forced through the 1910 door opening.

D-Day or delivery day came around quickly. The glazing unit was swiftly removed arising some concerns over security, set aside in the house and then I stretched and taped polythene across the gaping opening.

It was a bright and dry day but a stiff breeze rippled and bulged the opaque sheet making some noise, akin to holidaying in a tent.

True to their Service Promise the lorry with the two seater settee arrived on time. The  men on board seemed very pleased at the arrangements, no doubt having had to negotiate many horrors in their time from multi-storey stairwells to corridors and many scenarios in between.

After I had untaped the temporary covering, theirs was a skillful lift and placing of the bulky furniture, now accompanied by the single armchair which I had handled through the opening myself, with somewhat less style and efficiency.

Within a couple of hours the window was reunited with its frame.

It had been a long and tiring day, especially having had to rely on others for the plan to come together.

The look of happiness on Maureen's face as she began to sink into the soft leather upholstery was well worth waiting for.