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And thanks for your prompt response, too - not least because it confirms that I wasn't barking up the wrong tree about what you meant by "scheme houses". I've dug out another note since I wrote, which says that one of the houses in the third development I mentioned as sold in 1937 for £385. This was taken from the title deeds for that house, whereas the other prices I quoted were from people's memories. The developers had paid £1,500 for the entire site, on which (as I said), they intended then to build 52 houses. (They bought it from what I assume was one of the firm's partners... who himself bought it the year before for £675... I am not sure that they were engaged "upon a mission to encourage property owning amongst the working class", even if that may have been an outcome!) Mike ----------------------------------------------------------- I search the web and raise money for the Bowburn Banner Group with Everyclick. Join me: http://www.everyclick.com/msyer ----------------------------------------------------------- On 27 May 2008, at 16:51, Nyra Wilson wrote: > Thank you very much for your reply. I was especially interested as > you cited Bowburn as an example. I have been looking for material on > scheme houses for quite some time, my husband[the family computer > expert] has looked for possible sites for me and even bought me a > copy of Moyes "Mostly mining" at Christmas because it mentioned > them. Never a word from him about Bowburn scheme houses although he > went to Bowburn Junior School and his mother's family had lived > there for most of the twentieth century. At present he is doing his > final session of the academic year in Sweden but when he gets back > you can be sure that he will be thoroughly teased about it. > > For now I will e-mail his cousin at Ferryhill to see if she > remembers anything and next time we come up to visit her we can > swing by Bowburn to look for surviving examples. > > If you recollect anything else about the financing or any other > aspects of the scheme houses I would be very interested as it seemed > to be a very good way of encouraging property owning amongst the > working class yet it is rarely mentioned in social history and I > hope to rectify this in some work that I am doing on my home village > of Easington. > > Thank you very much for your prompt response. > > Nyra Wilson