London Street Commune was a
hippy
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
movement formed during the 1960s. It aimed to highlight concerns about rising levels of
homelessness
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
and to house the hundreds of hippies sleeping in parks and derelict buildings in
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
.
The commune famously
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
a mansion at 144
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
on
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the junc ...
, which became a media sensation. The group was quickly evicted in a high-profile
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
operation and other squatting attempts were also rebuffed.
One of the leaders of the commune who often spoke to the media was known as 'Dr. John.'
He was actually
Phil Cohen, who later became an urban ethnographer and emeritus professor at the
University of East London
, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
.
Hippydilly
Occupation
Around 200 hippy squatters occupied 144 Piccadilly in September 1969. The building was a mansion built by
Sir Drummond Smith in the late 1790s, which had been lived in by
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
when he became
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
in 1855. It was surrounded by a dry moat so they built a makeshift drawbridge to control the entrance. The place quickly became known as Hippydilly.
Intensive media coverage made the occupation a sensation and the numbers of people on the street outside never dropped below 500. Up until the eviction, most police activity was dedicated to controlling the violent right-wing elements in the crowd who wanted to attack the squat. In one incident, five motorbikes were set on fire.
An eighteen year old squatter welcomed in the press and made £300 in five days giving supposedly exclusive interviews to the mainstream newspapers about fictional orgies and drugs binges.
Despite its short lifespan, the squat attracted many visitors. The Commune had planned to occupy the building peacefully and argue their need for housing in court, but the attacks from police and skinheads meant that things began to go out of control. The Commune invited Hells Angels to act as security and they began to take over the building.
Eviction
After six days, the eviction came swiftly on 21 September 1969. Commanding police officer Chief Inspector Michael Rowling told the occupants that a woman was giving birth and needed assistance, so they lowered the drawbridge and then 200 police swarmed in. The operation took just three minutes to clear the building.
Almost 100 people were arrested during the eviction, most were immediately released again the same day.
Aftermath
The next day, mainstream the press reported as follows:
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
- ''Fall of Hippy Castle'';
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
- ''Squatters ousted by police commando'';
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
- ''Police rout Piccadilly Hippies.''
The police had performed an illegal eviction since they had no possession order.
Property developer Ronald Lyon was so impressed with the police action that he went to West End Central police station and donated £1000.
The building stood empty for three years and then was demolished despite its listed status. It is now the site of the
InterContinental London Park Lane
InterContinental London Park Lane is a luxury five-star hotel in London, England operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group. It is located at 1 Hamilton Place on Hyde Park Corner with Park Lane, close to the shopping center of Knightsbridge ...
hotel.
Other actions
After Hippydilly, the London Street Commune moved to a previously squatted school at Endell Street in
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
. This was evicted after a few days in another large police operation. There were 63 arrests and one month later 32 people were still being held at Ashford Remand Centre. Of these, eight were singled out as ringleaders and charged under the
Forcible Entry Act 1429
The Forcible Entry Act 1429 (8 Hen 6 c 9) was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of England. It is written in the Anglo-Norman language. It was expressed to be passed because the statute 15 Ric 2 c 2 was felt to be inadequate because it di ...
. After a trial at
Lewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court is a Crown Court venue in Lewes High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England. It forms part of the Lewes Combined Court Centre which it shares with Lewes County Court. The building, which was known as the "County Hall" from an earl ...
, all eight were found guilty, but the punishments varied. Two people were jailed for nine months, two sent to detention centres, three were given suspended sentences and one was fined £20.
An office building in
Russell Square
Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...
in
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
was then occupied and quickly evicted.
References
External links
Memories of 144 Piccadilly and the London Street Commune* [http://www.internationaltimes.it/archive/index.php?year=1969&volume=IT-Volume-1&issue=62&item=IT_1969-08-15_B-IT-Volume-1_Iss-62_005 International Times article, 15 August 1969 - beginnings of the LSC
& picture of the 'Dilly' in 69'An open letter to the Underground from the London Street Commune' and articles by Dave Williams and Ron Bailey - IT66, 10 October 1969
{{SquatE&W
1960 in London
1960s in London
Homelessness in England
Housing organisations based in London
Political campaigns in the United Kingdom
Squats in the United Kingdom
Squatters' movements
Former squats