**History and Evolution of Semi-Detached Houses**:
– Early 19th-century rural housing lacked sanitation and space due to population growth.
– Landowners shifted to building double cottages to reduce costs.
– Architect George Smith promoted the cost-effectiveness and comfort of semi-detached cottages.
– Model designs were adopted from pattern books in the early 19th century.
– Estate villages transitioned from local styles to picturesque designs.
– Semi-detached houses became a popular housing solution for both rural and urban working classes in the 19th century.
**Housing the Working Classes**:
– Housing for farm laborers in the early 19th century typically comprised one downstairs room and two bedrooms.
– Population growth post the Enclosure Acts led to a scarcity of land for homebuilding.
– Landowners or builders took responsibility for constructing homes for laborers.
– Urban laborers were initially housed in overcrowded tenements and lodging houses.
– Model semi-detached cottages were proposed for urban workers in the mid-19th century.
– Permanent building societies emerged in the 1840s to facilitate artisans in property ownership.
**Model Villages and Urban Planning**:
– Model villages like Copley, Saltaire, and West Hill Park provided hierarchical housing for workers.
– Port Sunlight and Bournville exemplified low-density layouts for working-class housing.
– The development of Port Sunlight and Bournville influenced the Garden City movement.
– The Tudor Walters Report and subsequent town planning acts set standards for soldier accommodations and public housing.
– The Radburn design introduced clusters of semi-detached houses for improved urban planning.
**Middle-Class Housing and Architectural Influence**:
– The middle class expanded in the 19th century due to industrialization and new professions.
– Semi-detached houses emerged as a suburban compromise for the middle class.
– Architectural partnerships like John Shaw Sr. and John Shaw Jr. contributed to the design of semi-detached housing.
– Public figures like Richard Gillow and John Nash played a role in the development of semi-detached housing.
– The Parker Morris Committee set standards for public housing from 1967-1980, influencing the design and construction of semi-detached houses.
**Global Spread and Cultural References**:
– Semi-detached housing symbolizes suburbanization not only in the UK and Ireland but also in regions like Canada and Australia.
– Toronto, Canada, has a significant history of semi-detached houses due to narrow lots.
– Australia refers to semi-detached houses as duplexes, with a unique ownership structure compared to townhouses.
– Various cultural references in music and literature highlight semi-detached houses and their role in suburban life.
– The popularity of semi-detached houses remains significant globally, with variations in terminology and design preferences across different regions.
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced houses, with a shared wall on both sides. Often, semi-detached houses are built in pairs in which each house's layout is a mirror image of the other's.
Semi-detached houses are the most common property type in the United Kingdom (UK). They accounted for 32% of UK housing transactions and 32% of the English housing stock in 2008. Between 1945 and 1964, 41% of all properties built were semis. After 1980, the proportion of semis built fell to 15%.
Definition from ChatGPT:
Semi-detached:
"Semi-detached" refers to a type of housing where two separate homes share a common wall. Each home has its own separate entrance and usually a small garden or yard. This type of housing is common in many suburban areas.