Jade (Phillips family)
NEVER AGAIN...well actually yes. It was so amazing but I really think it is more difficult than it sounds! It was a minute's walk to the toilets and there were some nasty drafts in them too. One time, ours overflowed

John H. Harris, USA
In reply to Hope Stanley:I could easily see a US version of this show set in West Virginia or northern Kentucky. As I discussed with one of the miner/guides at the Rhondda Heritage Park when I visited last May, there were a lot of similarities between what happened in Welsh mining communities and those in the Appalachians.

Katie from Tredegar
I loved Coal House. The houses reminded me of the cottage that my parents moved to in the 1970's that was one up and one down. With no bathroom or kitchen everything centered around the fire downstairs and the luxury of a tap outside.The local village school was very similar with coke being used to heat the two classrooms in large stoves.Never mind the 1920's it was still like that in the 1970's!

Andrea from Wrexham
My Dad was brought up in a house like this in Brook Street in Wrexham, (he was born in 1913) where Chicago Rock now stands. The houses were called "chamber houses" or two up, two down. He lost his dad when he was four as his dad was killed in WW1. My Dad had to leave school at 14 to go and work in the leather works. They had tin baths which were hung up on a hook outside the back door. There is a picture of my Nana in one of the "Old Wrexham" picture books. I have just watched the Christmas Special and I feel that even though they were all so poor, the community spirit was much better than it is these days.I have loved the series immensely and think all children would benefit from studying things like this at school to make them realise how well off they really are these days.Nadolig llawen i bawb

Adele from London
I could like living in this house. The house is less expensive in the 1920s. I don't like the toilet because it is small.

Maria from London
Yes, I could live in a similar house, becouse I like and I love the simple life.The air is cleaner than now because there's no contamination but I would like the people to learn about this happy life.

Gareth Hanford briton ferry
I've always been interested in mining history as my grandad worked in top level jebbs in crynant in the 1940s. He always said it was "hell on earth". At the end of the shift they used to walk down to cefn coed colliery to bathe. My 7 yr old daughter Courtney never missed an episode of coal house and was deeply engrossed in how people used to live many years ago and has now developed a strong liking for history. coalhouse was great viewing educational and informative.

David from Buckingham
My Great Grandparents lived in Engine Row (Part of Stack Square) until the late 1910's. A Great Uncle of mine was listed as living at 3 Engine Row as late as 1920. Not living in Wales I only saw the summaries on BBC2 each week. Please release it on DVD so I can see more of the story.

Kerry from Midlands
I was born in 58 and there are similarities with the house I grew up in. No inside toilet, which meant the chamber pot till I was about 15, when the council upgraded the house. I don't know when the house was put on mains but my father kept telling me that I was lucky not to have to help dig the cesspit at the end of the garden (great rhubarb though)! I just about remember the bath being installed and my father making a wooden cover because it was the room with the sink, cooker and where the food was prepared. But it was better than the tin bath in the scullery. We are only talking about 40 years ago here. I am sure other parts of the country were the same. I remember having to go to bed with a candle because the lighting was only downstairs. The houses were built around 1930. My Grandparents moved to the village in 1930 and were the first to have that council house, which we kept till my mother died in 1993. Showing how people lived in the way we did through the Coal House project has been fantastic and humbling.

Cal
Brilliant show I could defo live in a house like this but only for a few weeks!!

miss jo
I'd move in tomorrow and live like the coal house families permanently if I could!

katie 11
I think that it was a brilliant series because i have seen how hard it was for my great grand fathers family in them days and i think we are very lucky today. I am hoping to go to see stack square soon

Ruth from Pontllanfraith
I was born in a house like this in Dowlais Top. Both my parents were born into mining families in 1920 and they lived the life depicted in this series. I have very clear memories of both my grandmothers' kitchens and the effort it took to keep their homes and their clothing etc clean. My mother told me once that as a young mum she could nurse me in a shawl [welsh fashion]while at the same time 'rise the ashes' [ clear the ash from the grate].Congratulations BBC Wales and all those that helped bring this absorbing programme to our screens.

Cath Brown - Abercarn
Would love to try it but only for a week, will you be opening the site to the public after filming has been completed.

DEZ Merthyr
What a marvellous prog. I was born in 1950 and our rented house in Merthyr was not all that different from Coal Hoause. We had the luxury of gas cooker/loghting but our one fire was coal, no emersion heater bath by the fire, had to put the fire guard up to stop being burnt by the coal fire "spitting".

karen abertillery
my grandparents lived in a house like that no wonder they became very houseproud has they got older and life became easier. coalhouse is really brilliant viewing well done the BBC and the families for taking part.

HOPE STANLEY USA
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS PROGRAM. I WONDER IF WE CAN'T DO THE SAME TYPE OF PROGRAM HERE. I'M NOT SURE I COULD LIVE LIKE THAT BUT I WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY.

emily morgan
yeh probly for a day but it would be hard for my mum because me and my sister can not go a day whithout arguing

Joy Morris,Ebbw Vale
I did live in a very similar house in colliers row,but we did have a bosh,with cold running water,thank god my nan was a dab hand at the fire game,hers was always half way up the chimney.

Nia, Cwmavon
Wouldn't it be good if we could take the aspects of living in 1920's that we like and combine them with the good bits of life today? I don't think I would cope as well as the families are. Good luck to them, the weather is meant to be getting colder!

Andrea Thomas Blaenafon
My mam used to live in stack square,she was born there not sure if it was number 2 or 3. My Brother Boyo was also born there, so its brilliant watching it now. I used to play there when I was a child and remember standing on top of balans arch and shouting down to hear the echo. The families are brilliant and its nice seeing Blaenafon shop keepers delivering their fruit and meat and seeing friends in the choir. Can't wait to see who else pops up. It should be on longer and every day though, we prefer it to corrie!

Jason Skinner from Lincoln
Just found out that my Father was born in Number 9! which is the house that the Phillips' are living in(although numbered as No8 on the show). Great to see members of the community in Blaenavon showing their support for the programme.Keep up the good work Mike and Wayne(grocer and butcher).

pauline Blaenafon
I dont think they would have chicken for Sunday dinner.That was just for Xmas if you were lucky.

Jo Sproul, Cardiff
My Nan (born 1923) & I love the programme, however she tells me that the men would not walk outside with the potty, but would've poured it into a bucket first!

Sue, Porthcawl
Everything has been done to make the series authentic in every way - a query - I cannot recall what would have been used to wash dishes especially with grease - did they use soda? Can anyone tell me?

nerys park street bleanavon
i don't think i could go back to 1920s and live with toilets outside and no heating and not a lot money. I'm only 20 but watch the program. We have a far easier life noe than in the 1920s. I think this programme should be shown in school to teach children to value what we have now

Alison from Gilfach Goch
I love it, i know it's just the begining but look how happy they all are, fantastic, we get everything too easy these day's !!!!

Donna Hutton-Jones from Aberystwyth
My Nana lived in a house just like this one in Cwmavon, Port Talbot, with her mother and father and 5 brothers all of whom worked down the mine. Her father was unable to work after an accident down the mine and as a result was unable to work again. There was no running water just a stand pipe at the corner of the street, the sandman used to call once a week for putting on the flagstones on the floor

Jason Skinner from Lincoln
My father was born in Stack Square, No4 I think. Quite funny to think he was born in a museum! Times were definately harder then.

Rhian Sweet, Abertillery
I couldn't imagine living back in those times no central heating, electricity etc. My hat goes off to the families who are taking part and to their wonderful children. I only hope for the next 2 1/2 weeks they got left that it don't get too cold for them!

Jordan Acock Jones, Lower Ellick Street Blaenavon.
I think modern matteress' will take out a huge part of the hardship of living in 1927. They obvisously didn't have the materials which make todays matteress' so comfortable so its a shame that the families dont have to come home after a typical 1927 hard days work to a typical 1927 bed.

Jac Jenkins Caerphilly
Reality hit home when I saw that young lad at 15 going to work for an 8 hour shift with his father, when my 15 year old was studying for an exam. No I am truly glad that I live in this era. I don't think I could go back to pre central heating although I do remember my mam starting the fires first thing and us waiting til the tea was ready and running from the freezing bedrooms to the fire and hugging the cup of tea.

Murtle from Abersoch
I once lived in Cwmbach, Aberdare, in a house not to dissimilar to this house as did our neighbours. We were a happy community who took care of each other and the old folk not like today. The same with us, we had an outside toilet and newspaper to wipe bums but did we care? Noone knew no different. We were happy.

Cynllo Coed duon
Wages 10 shillings per day. Rubbish, must have been 10 shillings per month.

Coal House web team
You're right about the modern matresses, Hilary. The set designer says it's for health and safety reasons. He had to use plastic covering on the mattresses so there was no point using the original type of matress which would have been filled with horse hair underneath.

Hilary, Brecon
Why do the Coal House beds have modern mattresses? They should be feather, surely! There should also be plenty of heavy blankets to go on top. Are the sheets easy care polycotton?Lets have realism throughout these houses! And what about toilet paper - newspaper squares, I hope!

Louise from Forgeside, Blaenavon.
My nan's house was just like this except 10 times bigger. When she used to babysit us grandkids I can remember having to peel back about 10 layers of sheets and blankets just to get into bed and to be honest they were a lot warmer than the quilts we have now. The dining room looks like mine now except wooden floors now cover the slabs and the woodburner is much better than the central heating we have. In fact I'd probably be ok living there. I've always wanted my own veg patch as I love cooking. The only thing I would miss is my computer.

David James, ex Blaenavon
I did live in a house just like this. I was brought up in Chapel Row. The houses were much the same.

Louise Parry from Wrexham
I think that I could live in a house like this but only for a short time as I am used to my home comforts. I think it would be hard work having to heat every bit of hot water you would need. I would enjoy the animals. You would need them for food but it would be very sad when they would need to be killed.

Angela Atkins, Chepstow
My nan lived on a farm an it was exactly like this. They were hard days in a way but people were happier than they are today. They communicated more with each other and had lots of fun entertaining themselves. All my nan had was one living room with the old black fireplace and one bedroom. If we wanted the toilet we had to go up the top of an orchard in the dark of the night and use newspaper to wipe our bums. We used to get so cold.