Decorating new houses in Harlow New Town, 1982

Clips from an oral history interview with Dave Bracey, who ran Harlow Antiques second-hand furniture shop.

In the first clip, Mr Bracey describes popular decorating styles in the new houses built in Harlow New Town in the 1940s and 1950s. He also explains that the styles varied widely, because the people varied, coming from different places and different backgrounds.

In the second clip, Mr Bracey speaks specifically about the furniture that was commonly used when people first moved to Harlow.

This interview was conducted by Dr Judy Attfield for her project, “Harlow Housing and Design”. The full interview can be heard on Essex Archives Online (SA 22/1359/1).

The image shows Broadway Avenue, Harlow. Photograph by JR James and used under a Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial) licence.