Birmingham Back to Backs
The last surviving 'back-to-back' workers' houses, preserved by the National Trust, with guided tours recreating four households from the 1840s to the 1970s.
In 19th-century Birmingham, most working-class people lived in back-to-back terraced houses: three-storey homes built back to back, with each dwelling having only one window and sharing a rear yard with its toilets and washhouse. This courtyard on Hurst Street is the only one left in the city. Restored by the National Trust, four of the houses are furnished to show family life from the 1840s to the 1970s, and there is a restored old sweet shop. Visits are by guided tour only, lasting about 90 minutes, and places are limited, so book online well in advance. It sits near Chinatown and the Crescent Theatre in the Southside area, about a 10-minute walk from New Street station.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun guided tours only (reservation required)
Nearby sights
- Bullring & Selfridges
- Digbeth
- Frankfurt Christmas Market, Birmingham
- St Philip's Cathedral
- Victoria Square
- Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
- Library of Birmingham
- Brindleyplace & Gas Street Basin