what does this mean

[swampinstein]

I was looking at a census and it says address......Northampton street in a yard
what does ...in a yard mean?

[youngtug]

Probably a wagon or some other form of temporary structure. Usually a traveler.

[dawnsh]

Without knowing exactly who you are looking at and the rest of the street on the census it's hard to comment

a lot of houses had a back yard, a small concrete area behind the property, could this be it?

[swampinstein]

I think it was a slum area....didn't they have the houses so close together...maybe 4 together in like a square and they shared a yard

[Annie65115]

That setup was common but usually called a 'court'. Do you have a reference so we can take a look?

[diddymiller]

it was also called a yard. we had several in Loughborough. some names still exist although the housing has changed.

could be any number of houses in the yard or court.

Diddy

[diddymiller]

City of Leicester:

"A report of 1845 described the town's drains as 'more a menace than a relief'.  Most streets were quite without sewers. In 1849 it was reported that out of 242 streets and 347 alleys, courts, and yards, only 112 were fully culverted and more than half were without any sewers at all."
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol4/pp251-302

Diddy

[youngtug]

 https://www.le.ac.uk/emoha/community/resources/braunstone/slum2.html

An example.

[swampinstein]

Thanks everyone x