The tour looks at a variety of social housing provision, including developments by other early organisations as well as some significant Peabody estates. In an area best known for large private houses and blocks of luxury flats there can be found a surprising number of locations where homes for people on lower incomes have long existed.
From the meeting point at Sloane Square we will walk a short distance to look at Lumley Flats and Coleshill Flats which were acquired by Peabody from another mid-19th century housing provider. The next stop is the Pimlico estate, also known as Peabody Avenue – it lies to the east of the train sheds south of Victoria station.After passing a block built by the Metropolitan Association, another early housing provider, we will look at the Chelsea Gardens estate which was built by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company and is now owned by Peabody.
Chelsea Court, near the Embankment, is an ornate late 19th century building which was once a development of luxury flats, but has been reordered to create sheltered accommodation for elderly people.
The Chelsea Manor Street estate was built by Peabody in the 1930s and is an example of the work of its second major architect, Victor Wilkins. We will next look at Lawrence Street estate, built by Peabody in 1870 and one of its oldest estates. Finally we will see Hereford Buildings in Old Church Street, which only came into Peabody’s ownership in 2017 but which dates from 1878 and was paid for by a friend and admirer of Octavia Hill, another notable housing philanthropist.
Christine Wagg joined Peabody in 1992, initially as a legal assistant based in the Governance team. Her work included checking and sealing new legal documents as well as having responsibility for Peabody’s title deeds and other historic records. She now works reduced hours as the organisation’s in-house historian, dealing with a range of enquiries from academics, writers and publishers about the history and archives of Peabody, as well as from members of the public who are researching their ancestors. She gives talks on Peabody’s history and leads guided walks which visit our oldest estates and compare them with other key examples of early social housing. Christine is co-author of the book Homes for London: the Peabody Story which we published in 2018.
Meeting Place: Sloane Square Station
Image: Pimlico Flats, Block N, Early 20th century photo.