We now own 55 properties. Gertrude Leverkus, one of the very first professional woman architects in the UK, becomes our in-house architect. The first woman to qualify as a chartered accountant by exam, Ethel Watts, is our auditor.

Ours was the very best landing. My neighbour Joyce had a wind-up record player and every Sunday morning she’d play Harlem. The minute we heard it we rushed out in our petticoats to dance around the landing

– Gwen Winterson