The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company
Encyclopedia
The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company (IIDC) was a Victorian
Model dwellings company
founded in 1863 by the printer, philanthropist
and later Lord Mayor of London Sir Sydney Waterlow. The company operated operating predominantly in Central London
as a provider of block dwellings for the working classes, employing a strict selection and discipline regime amongst its tenants to ensure a healthy return on investment. Starting with a capital of £50,000, the IIDC became one of the largest and most successful of the model dwellings companies, housing at its height around 30,000 individuals.
There were others in Old St Pancras Road, Wapping, Greenwich and Islington.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
Model dwellings company
Model dwellings company
Model Dwellings Companies were a group of private companies in Victorian Britain that sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for them, at the same time receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment...
founded in 1863 by the printer, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and later Lord Mayor of London Sir Sydney Waterlow. The company operated operating predominantly in Central 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...
as a provider of block dwellings for the working classes, employing a strict selection and discipline regime amongst its tenants to ensure a healthy return on investment. Starting with a capital of £50,000, the IIDC became one of the largest and most successful of the model dwellings companies, housing at its height around 30,000 individuals.
Buildings
Waterlow worked with the builder Matthew Allen, choosing not to use an architect. Blocks built by the IIDC include:- Huntingdon Buildings, Bethnal GreenBethnal GreenBethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
- Leopold BuildingsLeopold BuildingsLeopold Buildings is a well-known historic tenement block of flats in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, England.The flats were built in 1872 by The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, the philanthropic Model dwellings company founded and chaired by Sir Sydney Waterlow...
, Bethnal Green - Cromwell Buildings, SouthwarkSouthwarkSouthwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
- Langbourn Buildings, FinsburyFinsburyFinsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...
- Clarendon Flats, Mayfair
- Cobden Buildings, Kings Cross Road, IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
(1865) - Ambrosden Avenue, Devil's AcreDevil's AcreThe Devil's Acre was a notorious slum near Westminster Abbey in Victorian London. The Devil's Acre was located along Old Pye Street, Great St Anne's Lane and Duck Lane in the parish of Westminster St Margaret and St John.In the 19th century it was considered one of the worst areas of London and...
, WestminsterWestminsterWestminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross... - Derby Buildings, Britannia Street, CamdenLondon Borough of CamdenIn 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
There were others in Old St Pancras Road, Wapping, Greenwich and Islington.