London Wash House (1970-1979)

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  • Опубликовано: 12 апр 2014
  • Unissued / Unused material -
    Bethnal Green, London.
    CU street sign 'Ramsey Street' Pan across blocks of flats and housing development. Good shots of large scale washouse for use of local residents. Lots of old fashioned boilers and bubbling soapy water. Good interviews and voiceover from Cockney types telling of the companionship they have gained from washouses. One of the women has been using the wash house for over sixty years. Interesting social history.
    (16 mm EKTA. Sep mag track in UN 4561 E)
    FILM ID:3290.04
    A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. www.britishpathe.tv/
    FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT www.britishpathe.com/
    British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. www.britishpathe.com/

Комментарии • 103

  • @kevinwoplin9322
    @kevinwoplin9322 2 месяца назад +21

    My mum complained bitterly when the' Baths' at Latchmere in battersea closed! She said her white sheets were never as white, plus it was a social catch up and yes I went there once a week with my dad to have a bath as we had no bath room and an outside 'lav' until we moved in 1972

  • @Knappa22
    @Knappa22 Месяц назад +12

    Our needs are quite simple in life really. Food, shelter, hygiene, and interaction with others on a real and personal level.
    We can amass wealth and be convinced by advertising that we must have XYZ, but like this lady what we really need is the company of people we feel close to.

  • @elisabethj.v.beardsell9853
    @elisabethj.v.beardsell9853 Месяц назад +11

    I will never take for granted my washing session . Kudos to those ladies and gents!

  • @christophercooper6731
    @christophercooper6731 Месяц назад +5

    I love the way that the Pathé channel is extremely specific about the type of film that was used, but it doesn't give a more precise date of when it was filmed.

  • @lauraclark1520
    @lauraclark1520 5 месяцев назад +25

    Wow old belt driven machines. I love watching these programmes. Must have been hard work for those women and men.

  • @Zlervo
    @Zlervo 2 года назад +58

    I love the lady talking about elbow grease at about 2:21. I love her enthusiasm.

    • @billscott9719
      @billscott9719 Год назад +7

      My Nan.

    • @nevittwoods1730
      @nevittwoods1730 2 месяца назад

      I like main speaker & old joanna player with cigarette🚬🎹🎹🎹🎹

    • @heatherstephens9295
      @heatherstephens9295 Месяц назад

      I don’t think it is said anymore but I was brought up to “use elbow grease” 😂😂😂

  • @fasthracing
    @fasthracing Месяц назад +14

    Glorious lack of Elf & Safety

  • @kathyirwin
    @kathyirwin Месяц назад +10

    I felt that woman had a lot of sadness and hardship in her life while she put a brave face on it. This was her social outlet. Was her only independent outing every week? She really valued it.

    • @CatherineLeighe
      @CatherineLeighe Месяц назад +2

      Yes I would think so. They look worn out & didn’t have time nor money to do anything nice for themselves. Make no mistake folks this was a harsh life.

  • @rozchristopherson648
    @rozchristopherson648 Месяц назад +5

    I’m 63. Graduated from high school in 1979. That laundry system seems antiquated for 1979.

    • @derekarnold3665
      @derekarnold3665 Месяц назад

      I agree the dates are wrong, most probably early sixties. By the 70s there were automatic coin-operated laundrettes all over London. You could take your washing in early morning and it would be ready for pick-up by lunch time.

  • @woodyspooner
    @woodyspooner 2 месяца назад +15

    Like something from another world, it looked like hard work, but the people were happy. They literally rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. People of my grandparents' generation.

  • @susanfryer1616
    @susanfryer1616 2 месяца назад +11

    Bless them darn sight happier than some people nowadays ❤

  • @menopausalbarbie7467
    @menopausalbarbie7467 Год назад +12

    I used to go to the wash house with my mother when I was a child in the early 60's it closed in the early 70's 😥

  • @OofusTwillip
    @OofusTwillip 2 года назад +43

    Hard to believe it was still in use in the 1970s, when most people had machines at home, or went to modern laundrettes (laundromats).

    • @112chapters3
      @112chapters3 2 года назад +1

      These purists

    • @woohooboy
      @woohooboy Год назад +13

      Most middle- and upper-class families could afford them back then.
      The majority of working-class families in Britain (at that time) however either didn't have the money and/or space in their homes for a washing machine and still used these places to do their weekly laundry.
      The following decade saw a major shift take place with many working class folks starting to do the majority of their laundry at home and it continued into the 90's with launderettes beginning to fade in usage.
      Nowadays, launderettes are used mostly by people who live in the city and have no laundry facilities in their place of living.

    • @112chapters3
      @112chapters3 Год назад

      @@woohooboy yeah growing up I’m brum my mates mom had her finger in the mangle. Was permanently curled . Hottie she was

    • @Efferpheasants
      @Efferpheasants Год назад +7

      @@woohooboy Certainly not a majority, nobody in their right mind would say live in a flat without washing facilities. These ladies found a social hub at the washhouse and provided a service to the local council for the ill,elderly and infirm residents as well as local businesses like small hotels.

    • @woohooboy
      @woohooboy Год назад +11

      @@Efferpheasants - I grew up in a working class neighbourhood (in terrace houses no less) and no one had the space or money to buy a washing machine back then.
      In fact I was 11 when my family were finally able to afford one and until that point, my Mum did our weekly laundry at the local launderette.
      When we got our first washing machine, it was a small one that we had installed in our kitchen due to space limitation.
      Later when we moved, we had a separate laundry room that was big enough to accommodate a standard washing machine and seperate dryer.
      The council estates in my area has their own communal laundry rooms that were shared by its residents and only for their use.
      On the other hand if you were private renting (which my family was), the terrace houses more often than not weren't equipped with laundry facilities. In fact, the toilets were still outside.
      I was well into my teen years before the housing mandate was finally updated which meant the all plumbing has to be moved indoors.
      I can't tell you what a relief it was to finally have a toilet indoors and not have to either hold it until morning or make the brave venture at night to the backyard (in the dark no less) to use the toilet!

  • @davedunne1
    @davedunne1 2 года назад +28

    managed to trace this on google it is now luxury flats.

    • @intentionallyleftblank3016
      @intentionallyleftblank3016 2 года назад +2

      Everything’s so dang fancy now! 😢

    • @motortraction
      @motortraction Год назад +14

      They're all luxury flats. Wonder where all the luxury jobs are?

    • @DavideoSolar
      @DavideoSolar 2 месяца назад +3

      Wealth transfer keeps grinding on.

    • @apebass2215
      @apebass2215 Месяц назад +3

      I wonder how many people who live in those flats are native Londoners.

  • @jamesbomd3503
    @jamesbomd3503 16 дней назад

    About the time is very proud of these people now That they're on youtube

  • @richardgiles2484
    @richardgiles2484 Год назад +9

    This only seems like yesterday 🙄

  • @SurvivorofHorror
    @SurvivorofHorror Год назад +43

    Back when women were hard as nails. Old School Grans who'd smack your ear hole if you were out of line.

    • @gingerfellah5665
      @gingerfellah5665 3 месяца назад

      Women are still as hard as nails…..they have to be

  • @112chapters3
    @112chapters3 2 года назад +11

    I “still” used to spray starch on all my shirts when ironing….. all double cuffs like a G. I say still as I rarely wear more than shorts now. Feel overdressed wearing flip flops

  • @envsf03
    @envsf03 2 месяца назад +2

    My Gran use to take us down Ironmonger Row baths and wash-house at Old Street, which i think is still there.

  • @TheIamtheoneandonly1
    @TheIamtheoneandonly1 Год назад +5

    Cor blimey that accent! Serious Micky Flanagan vibes.

  • @jamesbomd3503
    @jamesbomd3503 16 дней назад

    love with the cigarette in his mouth Looked like he was conducting an orchestra
    complete legend

  • @lesleylovell8933
    @lesleylovell8933 2 месяца назад +2

    Oh I love a bit of east end humour 🥰

  • @Trish-ql9kz
    @Trish-ql9kz Месяц назад

    Cor blimey, how long were these clothes being worn to need such hard scrubbing 😮

  • @jamesbomd3503
    @jamesbomd3503 16 дней назад

    It was known that the women that worked at the wash house their hands could handle extreme high temperatures of hot water That's where the term comes from wash house hands

  • @handsoffmycactus2958
    @handsoffmycactus2958 Год назад +14

    I don’t get how it looks so dirty when it’s supposed to be cleaning things

    • @judybage4083
      @judybage4083 Год назад +19

      The washouses like this one, we’re originally built to combat cholera and other disease. The water was boiling to ensure hygiene hence the long wooden poles to pull the washing from the machines and troughs. Of course some families clothes were dirtier than others so would often look dirty but mainly they were just worn and discoloured.

    • @mojorisin8368
      @mojorisin8368 Год назад

      Because you're a moron.

  • @KB-uu4fy
    @KB-uu4fy Год назад +12

    Mmmmmm personally, looking at the cars at the beginning and the way the ladies are dressed, I would put this in the 60’s max. And I was around then 👍

  • @marvy7118
    @marvy7118 Год назад +9

    Love the guy with the cigarette - making the clothes smell ! Yuck

  • @jamesbomd3503
    @jamesbomd3503 16 дней назад

    ever heard the term talk of the Wash House

  • @jeffc8242
    @jeffc8242 9 месяцев назад +7

    Dang, I wish I understood English 🧐🤷🏼‍♂️

  • @Random-xw1fg
    @Random-xw1fg 2 месяца назад

    How much did one wash cost???

  • @Undermarysmantleforever
    @Undermarysmantleforever Месяц назад +3

    Hard life made for strong women👏👏👏🌟

  • @jamesb.9155
    @jamesb.9155 Год назад +4

    She said she's been coming doing laundry for nearb about 60 years which would be pre WWI. Those decrepit hot water guzzling machines are SO old!

    • @andrewallen9993
      @andrewallen9993 2 месяца назад +5

      Well they lasted at least 60 years in public use. How long did your last washing machine work for?

    • @uncouthboy8028
      @uncouthboy8028 Месяц назад

      One needs water to clean laundry.

  • @debedford
    @debedford Месяц назад

    I bet it smelt so clean in there. I wouldn’t have liked the steamy atmosphere though

  • @admiralcraddock464
    @admiralcraddock464 2 года назад +9

    Ah the good old days

  • @markw999
    @markw999 Год назад +7

    Original SteamPunk.

  • @ashleybellofsydney
    @ashleybellofsydney 2 месяца назад +10

    The British romantise poverty as if being poor is a good thing to be. The British class system is to so entrenched in England that the working as class can't even imagine being comfortable.

    • @demelza32
      @demelza32 2 месяца назад +2

      As an Australian living in the UK, it is so to an extent. If you open up your view you see that it is now a "worldwide" issue (including Australia), as money/materialism has been made more important than the earth and all that inhabit it. The rich people of the world may have material wealth, but do they understand the deeper meaning of being alive and what it really means to be happy from the inside out?

    • @johnfinbarr1160
      @johnfinbarr1160 Месяц назад

      Agreed, the Britain’s problems will only be solved when structural reform happens in society. By placing the citizen at the centre of the constitution and removing the monarchy and aristocracy which copper fastens the whole system with the economically failed anachronism of Empire. A republic will be start to renewal in Britain.

    • @johnfinbarr1160
      @johnfinbarr1160 Месяц назад +1

      @@demelza32bullshit. That’s how the rich get away with this complacency.

    • @apebass2215
      @apebass2215 Месяц назад +3

      I don't think they're romanticising poverty, they're acknowledging hard work. Having a strong work ethic was always very important to the working class because laziness can't be tolerated when you're relying on one another for survival.

    • @johnfinbarr1160
      @johnfinbarr1160 Месяц назад

      Bingo.

  • @englishincontext4025
    @englishincontext4025 2 месяца назад +5

    Yes, it wasn't just about the laundry, it was about community. Something which has been lost to the detriment of us all. There were also communal bath houses for people who had no bathing facilities at home. Woke kids have zero idea of how tough life can really be. So much is taken for granted because they are ignorant of the past.

    • @michellebooth327
      @michellebooth327 Месяц назад

      Exactly,so well put and why they’re able to get away with the white privilege crap these days as most youngsters have NO idea what life was like and how hard it was in this country in the past.

  • @Random-xw1fg
    @Random-xw1fg 2 месяца назад

    Did people not have washing machines at home back then??

    • @madabbafan
      @madabbafan 2 месяца назад +3

      If they could afford them, yes.

    • @andrewallen9993
      @andrewallen9993 2 месяца назад

      In the US you could buy petrol powered washing machines as few places had electricity.

    • @barkebaat
      @barkebaat 2 месяца назад +4

      Oh, you innocent child!

    • @andrewallen9993
      @andrewallen9993 2 месяца назад +2

      @@barkebaat Imagine the incredible joy of the local housewives when the steam engine powered bath and wash house first opened and it was no longer necessary to do all the washing by hand!

  • @JafoolyPorchers
    @JafoolyPorchers Год назад +3

    Its a shame these don't exist anymore! Most are turned into homes or holiday lets outside of London and cities. So u cant even get an idea!? One day they will bring these back like all the old things we miss!

    • @BN1960
      @BN1960 Год назад +5

      Like Rickets, smog and smallpox eh?

  • @dannil9878
    @dannil9878 2 года назад +9

    Does anyone understand the language She is speaking?

  • @jrbs
    @jrbs 2 месяца назад +3

    Look at London now 😡

    • @itsweb1584
      @itsweb1584 Месяц назад

      Great isn’t it. Poor old woman aren’t having to get two busses to wash their husbands clothes for hours upon hours a day.

    • @Knappa22
      @Knappa22 Месяц назад +2

      What are they doing now?? Working silly hours in some office to service a colossal mortgage (and to help generate billions for some distant billionaire), farming their kids out to childcare and breakfast/afterschool clubs and feeling permanently guilty about it; amassing huge amounts of (largely useless) stuff they believe they must have because an advertisement told them so.
      Catching a bus to do some washing doesn’t seem all that bad.

    • @apebass2215
      @apebass2215 Месяц назад +1

      ​​@@itsweb1584no, instead they're isolated from their communities. Poor people still take buses to do their washing at laundrettes, but it tends to be their clothing and their children's clothing, no husband to be found.

  • @weaponofmassconstruction1940
    @weaponofmassconstruction1940 Год назад +4

    So recent and so vile.

    • @e.jenima7263
      @e.jenima7263 4 месяца назад +5

      It was better than your clothing being filthy and better than doing ALL your laundry by hand and catching Cholera.