AN EPPING woman discovered the past, and her own literary talents, after a fateful day digging in her back garden.

Mrs Jenny Coumbe discovered the past about her home in Stewards Green, Epping after she noticed a lump of concrete poking up through her lawn.

Curious about the strange formation, Mrs Coumbe started digging and two hours later uncovered a large square slab.

After asking her neighbours Bob and Olive Knight about it they told Mrs Coumbe it was part of the old prefabs which had once stood on the site before they were rebuilt in the 1960's.

Mrs Coumbe decided to throw down her shovel and begin digging into the history of the homes.

Prefabricated houses were extremely popular in Britain following the Second World War after German bombing left thousands homeless.

The houses, which were constructed elsewhere and then assembled like a kit, were designed to be a temporary replacement for normal homes, but many remained inhabited for years and even decades after the end of the war.

Mrs Coumbe said: "I thought it seemed a shame that such an interesting slice of Epping’s social history was in danger of disappearing.

"So, with Bob and Olive’s help, and via advertisements in The Forester, the Epping Forest Guardian and the Epping Bookshop, we managed to track down some former residents."

She began to capture the memories of the residents, and the end results have been turned into Mrs Coumbe's first book "Lovely little places."

The book contains over 40 illustrations, most of which are black and white photographs and sketches contributed by residents.

Mrs Coumbe added: "The book is not just the story of the Stewards Green Prefab Estate, but also provides a glimpse of people’s way of life in the middle of the Twentieth Century. It all came about because of that lump of concrete."

"Lovely little places" costs £11.95 and is available from the Epping Bookshop and Amazon.co.uk