Change on a rural council estate: an analysis of dwelling histories

Recent debates have placed considerable emphasis on the importance of rented housing and council housing in sustaining rural areas of Britain. This paper presents data collected in order to develop a different perspective on the role of council housing in rural areas. It explores the development and changing social role of a small council estate in Cornwall, in the South West of England. Using a dwelling histories approach, it draws on administrative and other records to provide an account of changing occupancy on the estate from when the first houses were completed, in 1927, until 1988. The paper provides both a detailed account of the changing use of the dwellings and the history of the development of the estate as well as engaging with broader debates concerning the dynamics of the housing market in rural areas, state versus market modes of provision, social polarisation and the changing rural economy. © 1992.