Shaftesbury Park Estate
Encyclopedia
The Shaftesbury Park Estate, commonly known as The Shaftesbury Estate, is a residential estate in Battersea
in South London
, England
. It lies north of Lavender Hill
and Clapham Common
and east of Clapham Junction railway station.
The estate occupies a flat area of land at the edge of the River Thames flood plain just north of the slope rising to Clapham Common.
Historically the area was occupied by Battersea Fields, the poorly drained common land covering the area as far as the river. The Heathwall Ditch ran along the foot of the slope and drained into the River Effra and Falcon Brook, making Battersea an island; present day Heathwall Street marks the line of this water course. A stream crossed the area on the line of present day Grayshott Road.
says that brickmaking was carried on in some fields on Pig Hill. Cattle breeding also flourished to some extent in the area. Pig Hill formed part of Latchmoor Common, an area of common land
belonging to the parish for the common good.
Under the power of the Inclosure Act
dating back to William IV, the overseer of any parish had the power to enclose waste or common land, less than 50 acres (202,343 m²), lying in or near the parish. Under the Act, the parish then had to cultivate and improve such waste land for the use and benefit of the parish, and also had the power to let such enclosed land in allotments to the inhabitants of the parish to be cultivated on their own account. Taking advantage of this Act, the churchwardens and overseers of Battersea enclosed about 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of Latchmoor Common and let it out in allotments, for Allotment (gardening)
at a low rental, to the residents of the parish, for the cultivation of vegetables.
At the commencement of the seventeenth century, the allotments had flourished and Battersea had become famous for its market gardening
. The gardeners were known for their quality produce which fetched high prices in the London markets and were the first growers to cultivate and introduce asparagus. One gardener had 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of asparagus under cultivation, and at one time there were three hundred acres of market gardens within a mile of St Mary's Church, Battersea. The gardens were most probably improved by the Huguenots who settled in Wandsworth
in 1639.
When Pig Hill became Latchmere Road this land was known as the Latchmere allotments. The allotments were later sold to Samuel Poupart (the rail junction to the north is still known as Poupart's Junction). and became known as Poupart's Market Garden.
The company was dedicated to providing decent accommodation for the working classes at a time when overcrowding and squalid living conditions were rife amongst the poor. Money was raised to undertake small developments for sale, the proceeds of which were then invested in larger estates, like Shaftesbury Park, for renting.
The land for the Battersea estate was purchased in 1872; three other estates were developed elsewhere. The original concept was to combine new housing of various classes with social facilities such as meeting rooms, school rooms, a wash house and baths, and to provide integral open space (3 acres of the 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) bought). One facility certainly not to be provided on the estate was a public house, which was an attempt by the reformers behind the scheme to avoid the social problems of cheap alcohol.
At the same time as the conception of the estate, the social reformer and peer, The Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury
, was pushing legislation through parliament to improve the living and employment conditions of working people and sponsoring philanthropic efforts to provide schooling for their children. Under Shaftesbury's guardianship new so called Ragged Schools were established providing free education in 1844. On 3 August 1872, Shaftesbury laid the foundation-stone of buildings at the estate, thus giving it a name.
The estate layout and house designs were by the company's Architect and Surveyor, Robert Austin, formerly a carpenter with the company. However, financial difficulties, caused by poor accounting, led to replacement of the directors of the company and a change of approach during the construction of the estate. Rents and lease prices were raised, excluding many lower paid workers who were originally intended to benefit, and the planned area of open space was built over - Brassey Square in the centre of the estate.
They are consistently of stock brick with red brick dressings and pitched slate roofs, which with the common architectural style, gives the estate a strong sense of identity and distinctiveness. The grid layout, with streets of varying lengths but always straight (except Eversleigh Road, which is aligned with the railway embankment), allows for easy movement throughout the estate. There is a sense of formality in the townscape arising from the grid layout and the repetition in the building frontages.
The Peabody Trust
owns most of the estate, but many homes are already privately owned, and the number keeps rising as the Trust gradually releases more units for sale.
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
in South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies north of Lavender Hill
Lavender Hill
Lavender Hill is a hill near Clapham Junction in South London, England. The street name Lavender Hill is a continuation of St John's Hill and forms the section of the A3036 as it rises eastwards out of the Falconbrook valley at Clapham Junction, and retains that name for approximately 1.5 km...
and Clapham Common
Clapham Common
Clapham Common is an 89 hectare triangular area of grassland situated in south London, England. It was historically common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, but was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878.43 hectares of the common are within the...
and east of Clapham Junction railway station.
The estate occupies a flat area of land at the edge of the River Thames flood plain just north of the slope rising to Clapham Common.
Historically the area was occupied by Battersea Fields, the poorly drained common land covering the area as far as the river. The Heathwall Ditch ran along the foot of the slope and drained into the River Effra and Falcon Brook, making Battersea an island; present day Heathwall Street marks the line of this water course. A stream crossed the area on the line of present day Grayshott Road.
History
In the Middle Ages the area was known as Pig Hill because of the large number of piggeries in the area. The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
says that brickmaking was carried on in some fields on Pig Hill. Cattle breeding also flourished to some extent in the area. Pig Hill formed part of Latchmoor Common, an area of common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
belonging to the parish for the common good.
Under the power of the Inclosure Act
Inclosure Act
The Inclosure or Enclosure Acts were a series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament which enclosed open fields and common land in the country. They removed previously existing rights of local people to carry out activities in these areas, such as cultivation, cutting hay, grazing animals or using...
dating back to William IV, the overseer of any parish had the power to enclose waste or common land, less than 50 acres (202,343 m²), lying in or near the parish. Under the Act, the parish then had to cultivate and improve such waste land for the use and benefit of the parish, and also had the power to let such enclosed land in allotments to the inhabitants of the parish to be cultivated on their own account. Taking advantage of this Act, the churchwardens and overseers of Battersea enclosed about 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of Latchmoor Common and let it out in allotments, for Allotment (gardening)
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
at a low rental, to the residents of the parish, for the cultivation of vegetables.
At the commencement of the seventeenth century, the allotments had flourished and Battersea had become famous for its market gardening
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
. The gardeners were known for their quality produce which fetched high prices in the London markets and were the first growers to cultivate and introduce asparagus. One gardener had 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of asparagus under cultivation, and at one time there were three hundred acres of market gardens within a mile of St Mary's Church, Battersea. The gardens were most probably improved by the Huguenots who settled in Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
in 1639.
When Pig Hill became Latchmere Road this land was known as the Latchmere allotments. The allotments were later sold to Samuel Poupart (the rail junction to the north is still known as Poupart's Junction). and became known as Poupart's Market Garden.
Housing
In the 1870s, it went residential when the Artisans, Labourers and General Dwelling Company a housing co-operative founded in 1867 by William Austin built several thousand small Victorian homes on it.The company was dedicated to providing decent accommodation for the working classes at a time when overcrowding and squalid living conditions were rife amongst the poor. Money was raised to undertake small developments for sale, the proceeds of which were then invested in larger estates, like Shaftesbury Park, for renting.
The land for the Battersea estate was purchased in 1872; three other estates were developed elsewhere. The original concept was to combine new housing of various classes with social facilities such as meeting rooms, school rooms, a wash house and baths, and to provide integral open space (3 acres of the 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) bought). One facility certainly not to be provided on the estate was a public house, which was an attempt by the reformers behind the scheme to avoid the social problems of cheap alcohol.
At the same time as the conception of the estate, the social reformer and peer, The Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury KG , styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was an English politician and philanthropist, one of the best-known of the Victorian era and one of the main proponents of Christian Zionism.-Youth:He was born in London and known informally as Lord Ashley...
, was pushing legislation through parliament to improve the living and employment conditions of working people and sponsoring philanthropic efforts to provide schooling for their children. Under Shaftesbury's guardianship new so called Ragged Schools were established providing free education in 1844. On 3 August 1872, Shaftesbury laid the foundation-stone of buildings at the estate, thus giving it a name.
The estate layout and house designs were by the company's Architect and Surveyor, Robert Austin, formerly a carpenter with the company. However, financial difficulties, caused by poor accounting, led to replacement of the directors of the company and a change of approach during the construction of the estate. Rents and lease prices were raised, excluding many lower paid workers who were originally intended to benefit, and the planned area of open space was built over - Brassey Square in the centre of the estate.
Buildings and townscape
The estate was built between 1873 and 1877 and comprises about 1,200 two-storey houses with gardens laid out in wide tree-lined streets. The estate houses are of four basic types or classes distinguished by the number of rooms (only the highest class originally had bathrooms). The street elevations are varied slightly to avoid monotony, creating generally attractive street frontages.They are consistently of stock brick with red brick dressings and pitched slate roofs, which with the common architectural style, gives the estate a strong sense of identity and distinctiveness. The grid layout, with streets of varying lengths but always straight (except Eversleigh Road, which is aligned with the railway embankment), allows for easy movement throughout the estate. There is a sense of formality in the townscape arising from the grid layout and the repetition in the building frontages.
The Peabody Trust
Peabody Trust
Peabody Trust , founded in 1862, is one of London's oldest and largest housing associations with over 19,000 properties. It also a charity and urban regeneration agency...
owns most of the estate, but many homes are already privately owned, and the number keeps rising as the Trust gradually releases more units for sale.