The Back Place

Can you remember the Back Place?  I remember the one we had  when we were in the Council House at  10 Johnsons Road, Uppingham.  It was a room on the end of the kitchen - inside the house and you came in the back door straight into it.  I suppose you could liken it to the utility room these days.  It was a cold room and right at the end was a segregated bit with boards up along the bottom and the coal was always stored there. In fact whilst we were there the skirting board in the front room started going manky and damp.  The Council came out and replaced the plaster and the skirting board.  It was only afterwards that she found out what was happening.  My brother was fond of squirty bottles and was apparently when mum was not about squirting the washing up liquid into the coal shed part of the back place where it was laying in the coal and making the coal shed damp.  He was soon stopped in his tracks and funnily enough there was no more problems with the damp.

In our Back Place were shelves up on the wall.  Mum had painted the walls with emulsion and it always looked clean - she had painted it in a pale yellow.  Mum used to work on a sewing machine there during the week she used to make fashion belts  for a local factory at home having a quota of belts to make during the week but still being there for us.  That was the lengths she went to.

The shelves were often used to store vegetable like marrows and some of mum's bottle store as the room was always cold but you need cold to store some things like that.  There was also a separate pantry but that was a big walk in cupboard off the kitchen.

Our bikes used to be stored in there as well.

I could really do with a Back Place here as I am fast running out of space for storing things.  Its a shame that a room like this went out of fashion.

Today's utility rooms tend to be heated.

Did you have  "Back Place" and what did your family use it for.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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