Leopold Buildings is a historic tenement block of flats in

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 Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

, in the East End of London, England, in what is now the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located on Columbia Road, not far from

Columbia Road Market Columbia Road Flower Market is a street market in Bethnal Green in London, England. Columbia Road is a road of Victorian shops situated off Hackney Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The market is open on Sundays only. History Columb ...

. The flats were built in 1872 by The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, the philanthropic

Model dwellings company Model dwellings companies (MDCs) 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 ...

founded and chaired by

Sir Sydney Waterlow Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, 1st Baronet, (1 November 1822 – 3 August 1906) was a British philanthropist and Liberal Party politician, principally remembered for donating Waterlow Park to the public as "a garden for the gardenless". Life He ...

. It was built on land leased by

Angela Burdett-Coutts Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughte ...

- then the richest woman in Britain and, for her philanthropy, nicknamed the "Queen of the Poor". The buildings were Grade II listed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 1994. Following years of neglect, the block was completely refurbished in a £3.5 million project in 1997 by the Floyd Slaski practice for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Ujima Housing Association, in conjunction with English Heritage.

References

External links

*
History of Leopold Buildings including images of original plans

{{Model dwellings companies Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Residential buildings in London Bethnal Green