By the end of the Second World War 2.079 houses had been completely destroyed in the Birkenhead area, with a further 26,000 damaged. This level of destruction was repeated across the country, so a means of quickly providing new housing for those left homeless was required.

The "Prefab" was devised as temporary housing to meet this requirement. They were prefabricated homes built of steel or aluminium and fitted with all mod cons, over 100,000 were assembled following the war. These temporary buildings were only supposed to last ten to fifteen years, but they proved so popular that many still exist and are in use today, indeed, in some areas, prefabs have become listed buildings.

In December 1945, Birkenhead Corporation used its powers under Section 6 of the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944 to acquire about 6.07 acres of land between Arrowepark Road and Greasby Road. A new road (Molyneux Road) was built and 64 prefabricated bungalows (Prefabs) were built.

The Upton 'pre-fabbery' was used to re-house some of the people made homeless during the bombing of Birkenhead. The Prefabs were constructed out of aluminium and where delivered from the factory in three or four large pieces that could be assembled in under three hours. The Prefabs came complete with fitted kitchens and bathrooms.

For the first time, many young families found themselves living in well-designed accommodation with hot and cold running water, new electric appliances, and an inside bathroom.

The Upton Prefabs survived for nearly 30 years, but where replaced with the conventional houses which now occupy Molyneux Close and Greystoke Close. These houses have themselves recently been refurbished.

Can You Help?



Do you have any stories about Upton or the surrounding area?
