A house built between the wars, from 1919 to 1939, is most often a suburban semi with two-storey bay windows, a hipped roof in clay tiles, pebbledash over red brick and an arched porch. Look too for sunrise patterns on the gate or front door and brickwork that shows only the long sides of the bricks, a sign of cavity walls.
The short version
- Homes built between the wars date from 1919 to 1939.
- The classic is the suburban semi, with two-storey bays and often a mock Tudor gable.
- Look for a hipped roof in clay tiles, pebbledash over red brick and an arched recessed porch.
- Sunrise patterns on gates, doors and glass are a cheerful giveaway.
- Most have cavity walls, so the brickwork shows only the long sides of the bricks.
How to spot one, from the roof down
Start at the roof. The typical interwar roof is hipped, sloping down on every side rather than ending in a flat gable wall. It's usually covered in small red or brown clay tiles, with chimney stacks rising through the ridge or up the side wall.
The bays come next. Two-storey bays, curved or square, are the signature of the 1930s semi. Many are topped with a small gable of mock Tudor timbering. Plainer ones have a little tiled roof of their own.
The original windows were often steel, with slim frames and small panes, sometimes with coloured glass in the top lights. Many have since been replaced, so the bays and the porch are often the better clue.
The walls are usually red brick on the ground floor with pebbledash or render above. Look closely at the brick. If every brick shows only its long side, laid in neat overlapping rows, the wall is probably a cavity wall: two skins of brick with a gap between them. Cavity walls became common between the wars.
The porch is often an arch, set back into the front of the house, with a tiled step and a front door carrying a rising sun in its glass or panels. The same sunrise turns up on garden gates, as if the whole street had decided to look on the bright side.
Not every interwar house is a semi. Art Deco suntrap houses have white render, flat roofs, curved corner windows and a strong horizontal line. Council cottage estates from the 1920s are plainer, with brick walls, hipped or gabled roofs, neat sash or casement windows and generous gardens.
Local builders put their own spin on all of this, so treat these as clues rather than rules. This guide is written for England and Wales. Fancy a go? Play What era is this house?
Where you'll find them
After the First World War the government promised homes fit for heroes. The first big council cottage estates followed, laid out with wide roads, green verges and gardens front and back.
In the 1930s private building boomed. Pairs of semis spread along new roads on the edges of towns and cities, within reach of new bus routes and railway lines.
The homes built then include semis by the streetful, short terraces of four, detached houses, bungalows, maisonettes and the odd white Art Deco house. Most were built with families in mind and plenty still suit one well.
What tends to need looking after
Interwar homes tend to be practical and roomy, with good-sized gardens. What they need is mostly about their walls, their bays and their original details.
Cavity walls are held together by metal wall ties. In older walls these ties can rust over time, which can show as horizontal cracks in the mortar every few rows of bricks. A surveyor or a structural engineer can tell you what's going on.
Many cavities were built empty and some have been filled with insulation since. A surveyor or an insulation installer can check what's in yours and whether filling it suits the wall.
Bays can move a little differently from the rest of the house, which can show as cracks where the two meet. A surveyor can tell you whether a crack is anything to worry about.
Pebbledash and render protect the brick, but cracks let water in, so repairs are a job for a builder. Original steel windows can rust, though specialists can often refurbish them.
Clay tile roofs and chimneys are a roofer's job. Older wiring was often insulated with rubber, which perishes with age. An electrician can test the whole installation and tell you what they find.
Keep your interwar home's story
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