Anyone that has spent any time strolling around Brick Lane and Shoreditch on a sunny Sunday will undoubtedly have come across the Boundary Estate.
Lying just east of Shoreditch High Street and to the north of Bethnal Green Road, what now looks like a series of mansion blocks is actually the country's first proper council estate.
In 1890 London County Council embarked on a slum clearance programme of the Old Nichol, which included the Friars Mount slum.
Having served as an inspiration to a number of authors - including Arthur Morrison who wrote A Child of the Jago (which I admit I haven't read, but I know is the name of a nearby shop selling all sorts of glorious things) - the council decided to knock down the existing housing and build a series of social dwellings for the residents.
In the middle of the estate is Arnold's Circus - a bandstand built from the rubble of the existing slum. A refurbishment of this was completed by Tower Hamlets council last year and numerous events are now held there.
More information can be found at The Friends of Arnold Circus website here.
Going back to 1900, when the estate was finished - the re-homing didn't work out quite how LCC imagined. Those suffering the worst poverty were forced to move further east and north to Bethnal Green and Dalston, with the properties occupied by the poorer, but nevertheless more middle class people, who could afford to live there.
Today the council has brought much of estate (which is Grade II listed, along with the bandstand) up to decent homes standard.
Though in some instances you can still imagine what it might have been like 100 years ago.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the information that Boundary estate is the oldest? Victoria Square in Manchester was built in 1894.
The estate was built between 1892 and 1899 as the first housing estate project by the London Metropolitan Board of Works. Single blocks had previously been built by the MBW and other local authorities, and social housing by charitable bodies such as Peabody, but no estate had been built by a local authority until the Boundary Estate. It was not completed until 1899 and then officially 'opened'by the Prince of Wales in 1901.Despite many changes it is still predominantly council tenants, but there are increasing numbers of privately owned and leased flats. There's a great community spirit. The residents even managed to start up a community launderette nearly 20 years ago and it's still going strong, run by local residents. It has a great website with local history and other info and pics - worth a look http://boundarylaunderette.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI don't know any thing, but amazing pics..wonderful and wobbly! seems to be a professional photographer!!
ReplyDeleteLove Questionnaire
One of my favourite forgotten architectural gems of London, and good to see it's finally getting some TLC from FOAC.
ReplyDeleteThe first bricks were laid there in 1893, according to Linsey Hanley's excellent history of social housing, Estates: An Intimate History.
I lived there untill i was 9 years old. It was lacking in even the basics in some of the buildings.We had a toilet that was a cross the public passageway that took you to the upstairs.there was no bath or wash basin and just a cold water sink that was in the very small kitchen,about 7ftx4.No heating apart from one open fire,the big London Plane trees stopped any light getting in,
ReplyDeleteBBC 2 are running a series called London's Secret Streets and the one on The Boundary is due out on the 11th of July but do check.
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