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Hello Paul! Welcome to the forum. Look at the 1947 map which I posted above a couple of years ago. Howard Row was built in two blocks, with several years inbetween. The first block, the oldest of the Howard pit houses, is nearest the pit head and is where your father was born at nr.7 The numbers ran from 1-22 starting at the pit and going towards the social club. Your family may have lived there quite a while as there is a Lucas family at that address in 1911. I was born in 1947 at the other end of the street but have no memory of how it was because the family was möved to alternative accommodation shortly afterwards so that the houses could be demolished. I know, that at 3 yo I was still living the alternaive accommodation but the family must have returned to the newer colliery houses shortly after, because I started school at Netherton Infants at the age of 4½ in 1951. We lived then in Third Street. By then Howard Row and Yard Row no longer existed.They then seem to have been demolished a few years as the sites were overgrown with grass and bushes - a favourite playground area! The sites of the two blocks of Howard Row can be clearly seen in the ariel photo running north from the letter M up to the pit. Howard Row, nrs 1-22 were the smallest of the colliery houses with only two rooms. Yard Row consisted also of two rooms . The odd house had three rooms but this was because the residents built make-shift lean-toos over the outer areas However, the second block of Howard Row, nearest the social club was built with three rooms. Residents, even here increased some houses to four rooms using the same ingenuity as in Yard Row. As I said previously, I never saw these houses so yhe information I can offer is only what I've heard from older family members about living conditions in Howard Row.(my oldest siste was 20 years older than me). In his book on Netherton, Evan Martin shares this photo of Howard Row, presumably the gap between the two blooks. In the gallery you can find this photo which is reportedly of Clifton Row. I played with school friend in Clifton Row and can't remember it being as delapidated as this. Clifton Row was the newer, more modern of the pit rows before First-Third Street were built. I think this is Yard Row or even Howard Row. Both rows were built to the same plan I believe.