Tales from Clitheroe flats No 6 and the shack up the back

Clitheroe had originally been a large family home which had been converted into flats. Not too much thought had gone into the conversion and there were strange idiosyncratic corners and add-ons. Flat number 6 was one these.

There must have been a space beside No 5 and underneath No 7. What could be done about it? Some bright spark must have decided to build another flat there although the space was completely unsuitable. Squashed against the hillside and so cramped it wasn't much larger than a caravan, there were no windows along the back or sides and only high windows at the front. Also there was only one door into the dwelling. The people who lived there kept the door open so a bit of light could get in.

A kitchenette and the tiniest of bathrooms came off the living area. It was damp and dark and probably terribly unhealthy. The only positive thing about the place was that it must have been very cheap to rent. Amongst others I do remember a married couple with a baby living there briefly.

We had an amazing landlord about whom I will write in a future blog. One wonders if he had any compassion for the desperate people who rented that appalling space.

As one might suspect there was a reasonably high turnover in that flat so those residents never got to belong to the Clitheroe 'family'.

Right up the back of the property was a shack which also got rented out as a flat. I must have been in it because I remember a kitchenette which consisted of a bench with a washing up bowl and a gas ring. There was no running water. I think the resident had to get water from a tap that was a bit further down near the Broses' place. The allocated toilet was opposite our back door and next to Mrs Bosique's kitchen door. It was, I estimate, at least 50 metres from the dwelling! I don't remember ever seeing the resident going in there although I guess he did, even if it was to empty a chamber pot.

I only ever recall strange old men living in the shack. One who was there for a while even had chooks which annoyed the residents in No 7 because there was a rooster that crowed at all hours. I can't remember any details apart from the fact that there was an unhappy ending to the relationship - something to do with the chooks I believe.

The shack didn't even have an allocated letterbox, so it and other parts of Clitheroe were probably unapproved structures. The landlord collected rent nevertheless.

We all got on with our lives and were slightly amused about the transient residents. I guess we were all hard up and just accepted that someone would put up with these dreadful conditions. It was a step up from being completely homeless.