This photo was taken to the rear of Derwent Street in Norton and shows an actual midden doorway. It stands approximately four feet from the ground and is part of the house. With this type of midden, the rubbish was collected inside in a metal container which pivoted. The bin men would open the door and pull the container forward, causing the rubbish to drop into a container like a tin bath. The container was then carried, by two men, to be emptied into the bin wagon. The bigger middens had a full sized door that you could walk through and the rubbish was shovelled out. Courtesy of Bob Irwin.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Up to 1965 most houses used coal fires. The first task for the housewife in the morning was to clean out the fire and remvove the ashes, and then cart them out to the dustbin. Unlike today, anything that could conceivably burn was thrown on the fire, as this was the quickest way of getting rid of paper, cardboard and wood. The idea of wrapping everything in plastic had yet to be thought of. Hence, apart from potato peelings and other bits of vegetables, the dustbin contained nothing but ashes. These were heavy, so dustbin men had to be tough.
It would save all the land fill these days if we reverted to open fires, nothing much went into dustbins. Much cleaner and healthier in my opinion – food scraps went into the dog no fancy tins then.
The midden was originally a lavatory before the invention of the flush toilet. The middens were emptied by the midnight express.