Lansbury Estate
Encyclopedia
The Lansbury Estate is a public housing estate in the Poplar
area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
named after George Lansbury
, a Poplar
councillor
and Labour party
MP
.
It is one of the largest such estates in London
. It occupies an area bounded by the East India Dock Road to the south, the Docklands Light Railway
to the east and the Limehouse Cut
(a canal
) to the north-west.
Layout of the estate, built on a site badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, started in 1949 and construction of the estate started shortly before 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain
, with Frederick Gibberd's Chrisp Street Market
area and the Trinity Independent Chapel
. The construction of the housing and other land-uses extended eastwards, with the final phase, at Pigott Street
, finished in 1982, near Bartlett Park
.
The philosophy of the design was that new development should comprise neighbourhoods, and that within the neighbourhood should be all that a community required - flats, houses, churches, schools, an old people's home, a pedestrianised shopping area and covered market. There should be pubs and open spaces, linked by footways. Traditional materials were used in the construction, such as London stock bricks and Welsh slate to counter the modern architecture.
The architecture critic Lewis Mumford wrote of the Lansbury Estate (1953) "Its design has been based not solely on abstract aesthetic principles, or on the economics of commercial construction, or on the techniques of mass production, but on the social constitution of the community itself, with its diversity of human interests and human needs. Thus the architects and planners have avoided not only the clichés of ´high rise´ building but the dreary prisonlike order that results from forgetting the very purpose of housing and the necessities of neighbourhood living."
English Heritage have recognised the significance of the estate by listing some of the buildings, however they noted that the estate has suffered considerable neglect; and some well-meaning, but ill-advised modernisation of the facilities within the associated market.
John Betjeman
thought highly of it, alongside the nearby St John's Estate
on the Isle of Dogs
.
Poplar, London
Poplar is a historic, mainly residential area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about east of Charing Cross. Historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was...
area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
named after George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
, a Poplar
Metropolitan Borough of Poplar
Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900. It comprised the civil parishes of Bow, Bromley and Poplar until 1907, when it also became a...
councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
and Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
It is one of the largest such estates in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It occupies an area bounded by the East India Dock Road to the south, the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
to the east and the Limehouse Cut
Limehouse Cut
The Limehouse Cut is a straight, broad canal in the East End of London, which linked the lower reaches of the River Lee Navigation to the River Thames...
(a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
) to the north-west.
Layout of the estate, built on a site badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, started in 1949 and construction of the estate started shortly before 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
, with Frederick Gibberd's Chrisp Street Market
Chrisp Street Market
Chrisp Street Market was designed by Frederick Gibberd, and built as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951. It is located in Poplar in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and forms part of the eastern edge of the Lansbury Estate....
area and the Trinity Independent Chapel
Trinity Independent Chapel
Now a Methodist chapel, the original Trinity Independent Chapel was designed in 1840-41 by William Hosking FSA, at Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and built by John Jay....
. The construction of the housing and other land-uses extended eastwards, with the final phase, at Pigott Street
Pigott Street
Pigott Street is a road in Poplar, Tower Hamlets, London. The blocks of flats on it form part of the last phase of the building of the Lansbury Estate, and border the southern end of Burdett Road on the west....
, finished in 1982, near Bartlett Park
Bartlett Park
Bartlett Park is a public open space in Poplar in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; its address is Upper North Street, London E14. It is located to the south of the Limehouse Cut waterway; the Lansbury Estate is to the south and east of the park...
.
The philosophy of the design was that new development should comprise neighbourhoods, and that within the neighbourhood should be all that a community required - flats, houses, churches, schools, an old people's home, a pedestrianised shopping area and covered market. There should be pubs and open spaces, linked by footways. Traditional materials were used in the construction, such as London stock bricks and Welsh slate to counter the modern architecture.
The architecture critic Lewis Mumford wrote of the Lansbury Estate (1953) "Its design has been based not solely on abstract aesthetic principles, or on the economics of commercial construction, or on the techniques of mass production, but on the social constitution of the community itself, with its diversity of human interests and human needs. Thus the architects and planners have avoided not only the clichés of ´high rise´ building but the dreary prisonlike order that results from forgetting the very purpose of housing and the necessities of neighbourhood living."
English Heritage have recognised the significance of the estate by listing some of the buildings, however they noted that the estate has suffered considerable neglect; and some well-meaning, but ill-advised modernisation of the facilities within the associated market.
John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
thought highly of it, alongside the nearby St John's Estate
St John's Estate
St John's Estate is a housing scheme in Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs, just southeast of Canary Wharf. Centred on the triangle formed by Manchester Road, East Ferry Road and Glengall Grove, it was developed by Poplar Borough Council after the Second World War.John Betjeman described it as "one...
on the Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
.
External links
- Lansbury Voices is a local group tracing the history of the estate.
- Lansbury Voices Wiki
- The Lansbury Estate (Survey of London)