The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...
, in the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
and borough boundary with
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area.
In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
, which ran along ''Boundary Street'', on the western edge of the estate. In 1965 Bethnal Green merged into the new
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...
, while
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area.
In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
merged into the new
London Borough of Hackney
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. ''Boundary Street'' continued to form the boundary between the two new local authorities..
The estate, constructed from 1890, was one of the earliest social housing schemes built by a local government authority. It was built on the site of the demolished ''Friars Mount''
rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals (true seals and sea lions), and ev ...
in the
Old Nichol
The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London.
It is positioned just inside Bethnal Green's historic parish and borough boundary with Shoreditch, which ran along ''Boundary Stre ...
, with works begun by the
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...
in 1893 and completed by the recently formed
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
.
Soil from the foundations was used to construct a mound in the middle of Arnold Circus at the centre of the development, surmounted by an extant
bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...
. The estate consists of multistorey brick tenements radiating from the central
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
, each of which bears the name of a town or village along the non-tidal reaches of the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
.
History
Old Nichol rookery
In 1680 John Nichol of
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
, who had built seven houses here, leased of gardens for 180 years to a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
mason, Jon Richardson, with permission to dig for bricks. The land became built up piecemeal with houses, built by a number of sub-lessees. Many of the streets were named after Nichol, and by 1827 the estate consisted of 237 houses.
Henry Mayhew
Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine ''Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...
visited
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
in 1850, and noted for ''
The Morning Chronicle
''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...
'' the trades in the area: tailors,
costermonger
A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...
s, shoemakers, dustmen, sawyers, carpenters, cabinet makers and silkweavers. In the area, it was noted:
Roads were unmade, often mere alleys, houses small and without foundations, subdivided and often around unpaved courts. An almost total lack of drainage and sewerage was made worse by the ponds formed by the excavation of brickearth. Pigs and cows in back yards, noxious trades like boiling tripe, melting tallow, or preparing cat's meat, and slaughter houses, dustheaps, and 'lakes of putrefying night soil' added to the filth.
In about 1860 in ''A Visit to the Rookery of St Giles and its Neighbourhood'', he mentions the area again and uses the term
rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals (true seals and sea lions), and ev ...
.
The vicar of St. Philip's, the church serving the Nichol, quoted by
John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...
, of ''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'', in his ''Ragged London'' noted that the Nichol had grown even more squalid in the last 20 years as old houses decayed and traditional trades became masks for thieves and prostitutes. ''The Builder'' in 1863, noted the numbers inhabiting unfit cellars, the lack of sanitation and that running water was only available for 10–12 minutes each day.
Demand for change
The clearance of the
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
houses of the Old Nichol Street
rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals (true seals and sea lions), and ev ...
was the result of an energetic campaign by the local incumbent, Reverend Osborne Jay of Holy Trinity, who arrived in the parish in December 1886. Charles Booth had already noted the extreme poverty in the area in his study of London poverty. Nearly 6,000 individuals were crammed into the packed streets. The death rate was twice that of the rest of
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
, and four times that of London. One child in four died before his or her first birthday.
Redevelopment had been resisted by members of the Bethnal Green vestry, who owned much of the rookery, and were responsible for electing members of the
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...
. The powers the vestries and board were limited to the Torrens Act and the
Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875
The Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict c 36) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom designed by Richard Cross, Home Secretary during Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's second Conservative Governme ...
(Cross Act) which the Bethnal Green vestry refused to use.
Jay persuaded
Arthur Morrison
Arthur George Morrison (1 November 1863 – 4 December 1945) was an English writer and journalist known for realistic novels, for stories about working-class life in the East End of London, and for detective stories featuring a specific detecti ...
to visit the area, and the result was the influential ''
A Child of the Jago
''A Child of the Jago'' is an 1896 novel by Arthur Morrison.
Background
A bestseller in its time, it recounts the brief life of Dicky Perrott, a child growing up in the "Old Jago", a fictionalisation of the Boundary_Estate#Old_Nichol_rookery, Old ...
'', a barely fictionalised account of the life of a child in the slum, re-christened by Morrison as ''The Jago'': "What was too vile for Kate Street, Seven Dials, and
Ratcliffe Highway
The Highway, part of which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for vice and crim ...
in its worst day, what was too useless, incapable and corrupt — all that teemed on the Old Jago". Demolition actually began before the publication of the book.
The
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
was created by the Local Government (England and Wales) Act 1888, some 53 years after other major cities had been municipalised. It took responsibility for the housing of the working classes from the
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...
. In the first election, the progressives obtained a large majority. The Housing Committee secured from Parliament the
Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Background
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 was a public health act, not a housing act. It empowered local authoriti ...
, which gave it powers to implement the Torrens and Cross acts, and gave legal basis for it to manage housing estates. LCC chose Boundary Street as their flagship scheme. Initially they attempted to get the private sector involved but failed. In 1893, on the back of the 1892
Blackwall Tunnel
The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...
Act they gained permission from the
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
, to rebuild a small section of the scheme. The principle had been established.
The Boundary Street Scheme
The newly established
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
(LCC) decided to rebuild an area of some , including the Nichol and Snow estates, and a small piece on the
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area.
In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
side of Boundary Street, formerly Cock Lane. What became known as the Bethnal Green Improvement Scheme displaced 5,719 people and demolished 730 houses. Originally it was planned as a series of rectangular plots, but in 1893 a radial plan that would house a greater number of people was approved.
Owen Fleming designed the Boundary Street scheme. He retained only Boundary Street in the west and Mount Street in the east, though he widened both to . Old Nichol Street was also widened and extended to Mount Street, then renamed Swanfield Street. He designed . wide tree lined streets to radiate from an ornamental space called Arnold Circus. The LCC architects designed 21 and
Rowland Plumbe
Rowland Plumbe, also known as Roland Plumbe (2 February 1838, Whitechapel – 2 April 1919, Willesden), was an English architect, famous for being the author of many residential schemes across London, many being considered the first examples of ...
two of 23 blocks containing between 10 and 85 tenements each. A total of 1,069 tenements, mostly two or three-roomed, were planned to accommodate 5,524 persons. The project was hailed as setting "new aesthetic standards for housing the working classes" and included a new laundry, 18 shops, and 77 workshops. Churches and schools were preserved. Building for the project began in 1893. The two schools, Rochelle School, which was largely built in 1879, and Virginia School, built in 1887, predated the estate.
The new flats replaced the existing slums with decent accommodation for the same number of people, but the occupiers changed. The original inhabitants were forced further to the East, creating new overcrowding and new slums in areas such as
Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
and
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
. No help was offered to those displaced to find new accommodation, and this added to the suffering and misery of many of the former residents of the slum. The new blocks had policies to enforce sobriety and the new tenants were clerks, policemen, cigarmakers and nurses.
Such was the success of the campaign, that the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
officially opened the estate in early March 1900, saying ''Few indeed will forget this site who had read Mr Morrison's A Child of the Jago, and all of us are familiar with the labours of that most excellent philanthropist, Mr. Jay, in this neighbourhood''.
The impresarios and brothers
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
and
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario.
Life and career
Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...
(born Winogradsky) moved to the Boundary Estate in 1914, from nearby
Brick Lane
Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...
and attended Rochelle Street School. At that time, 90% of children attending the school spoke
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
.
Revival
Tower Hamlets Council has made proposals to transfer the estate to a
housing association
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...
, and upgrade the accommodation. A full refurbishment of one of the blocks, Iffley House was carry out by Sprunt Architects to demonstrate how this might be achieved but the proposal was rejected by a ballot of tenants in November 2006.
The estate radiates from a centrepiece roundabout, Arnold Circus, formed around a garden with a
bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...
. It is now being preserved by the Friends of Arnold Circus and has received grants for regeneration. Restoration work on the bandstand was completed in 2010.
Arnold Circus is also a mark point on several ley alignments including
Alfred Watkins
Alfred Watkins (27 January 1855 – 15 April 1935) was an English author, self-taught amateur archaeologist, antiquarian and businessman who, while standing on a hillside in Herefordshire, England, in 1921 experienced a revelation. He notice ...
' "Strand Ley" and "The Coronation Line", which is curious as before 1893, there was no intersection or feature here.
One of the roads that link into the circus is the northern end of Club Row, a part of
Brick Lane
Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...
market, well known as an animal market until this activity was closed down in 1983.
Conservation area
The flats remain and are
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, together with the bandstand. In their day, they were revolutionary in their provision of facilities for residents. Today, despite the lack of some modern amenities they remain popular with tenants and there is an active community.
Listed gardens
Arnold Circus Gardens
Grade II listed buildings
:Bandstand at Boundary Street Garden, Arnold Circus.
::Iron Railings and Overthrows at Boundary Street Garden, Arnold Circus
:4–5 Virginia Road
:Marlow House, Arnold Circus: Built in 1899.
::Marlow Workshops, Arnold Circus: Built in 1899.
:Virginia Primary School, Arnold Circus: London School Board design of 1875 with later alterations. A classic three-decker designed by E.H.Robson.
::Area railings at nos. 35 to 49, Arnold Circus
:Chertsey House, Arnold Circus: Designed by Reginald Minton Taylor in 1895
:Sunbury House, Swanfield Street: built 1894-6 by C. C. Winmill.
::Sunbury Workshops, Swanfield Street: designed by C.C. Winmill 1894
:Taplow House, Palissy Street: built 1894-6 by C. C. Winmill
:Hurley House, Arnold Circus
:Culham House, Rochelle Street: built 1894-6 by C. C. Winmill
:Sonning House, Swanfield Street: built 1894-6 by C. C. Winmill.
:Henley House, Swanfield Street: built 1894 by Roland Plumbe.
:Walton House, Montclare Street.
::Iron Railings between Henley House and Walton House, Old Nichol Street.
:Cookham House, Montclare Street: this is an 1897 building by R. Minton Taylor, said to be built in a more mature style.
:Porters’ House (former laundry), Montclare Street: this is the old laundry as the blocks lacked washing facilities, however no bath-house was provided. Built in 1894-6 by William Hynam.
:Sandford House, Arnold Circus: designed by R Minton Taylor in 1895/1896.
:Clifton House, Club Row
:Molesey House, Camlet Street
:Iffley House, Arnold Circus: Classically detailed and designed, 1896-8 by A. M. Phillips. The entrance is at the rear, leaving the facade free for a pair of broad windows to the ground floor in glazed brown brick.
:Laleham House, Camlet Street
:Hedsor House, Ligonier Street: one of four designs by C.C. Winmill 1898
::Iron railings, Gate and Gate Piers between Laleham House and Hedsor House, Old Nichol Street
:Benson House, Ligonier Street
:Abingdon House, Boundary Street:Built 1896-8 by A. M. Phillips. It had a conical tower.
:Wargrave House, Navarre Street:Built 1897 and designed by William Hynam
:Shiplake House, Arnold Circus: Built in 1897
:Walker House, 6–8 Boundary Street
:Rochelle Primary School, Arnold Circus
::Rochelle Primary School Infants, Club Row
::Rochelle Primary School House, Arnold Circus
::Iron Railings at Rochelle Primary School, Arnold Circus
::Playground Wall at Rochelle Primary School
:Streatley Buildings were demolished in 1971 These were the first dwellings on the Boundary Estate, on the east side. They were spartan larger flats erected 1893-4.
Rochelle School
The
1870 Elementary Education Act
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...
made it compulsory for all children between the ages of five and twelve to be given a basic education at public expense. This was to be provided by
Board School
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.
School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaignin ...
s- and school boards were set up across the country to build and run these schools. It was estimated that 100,000 places would be required in London which was a gross underestimation and 500,000 had been provided by 1900. The architect who oversaw this was E.R.Robson, a student of
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
.The two school houses on the Rochelle campus, juniors and infants, were early examples of Robson's work.
The Rochelle School is now a community arts facility.
Transport
The nearest
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
station,
Shoreditch High Street railway station
Shoreditch High Street is a London Overground station located on Bethnal Green Road in Shoreditch in East London. It is served by the East London Line between and with services running either to , or , , West Croydon, , and is in Travelcard ...
, opened on 4 April 2010.
References
Further reading
*Rosemary Taylor – ''Walks Through History – Exploring the East End'' (Breedon Books, 2001)
*
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