Wisbey builders from nearby Haslingfield, constructing a large estate of brick council houses in Medcalf Way, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, 1950s. BRITAIN???S decade of transformation in the 1950s after the austerity caused by the Second World War has been showcased in a new book. Incredible images show the low-cost housing that sprung up all across the country as the government undertook a huge building programme. Other shots show children playing in the street in a new community, builders laying the foundations for the new homes and a hotel with tens of cars parked up outside it, displaying the new-found wealth people were enjoying. The stunning pictures are included in a new book, The 1950s Home, by Janet and John Shepherd and published by Amberley.