The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company (IIDC) was a Victorian

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 in 1863 by the printer, philanthropist and later Lord Mayor of London

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 ...

. The company operated predominantly in Central

London 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 ...

as a provider of block dwellings for the

working classes The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

, 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. Waterlow's example was influential. The Newcastle Upon Tyne Improved Industrial Dwellings Company was set up by James Hall of Hall Brothers Steamship Company, Tynemouth, after visiting Sir Sydney Waterlow's establishment in London.

Buildings

Waterlow worked with the builder Matthew Allen, choosing not to use an architect. Blocks built by the IIDC include: * Marlborough Buildings,

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* Huntingdon Buildings,

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 ...

* Leopold Buildings, Bethnal Green *

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, Charing Cross * Cromwell Buildings, Southwark * Langbourn Buildings, Finsbury * Clarendon Flats, Mayfair * Cobden Buildings, Kings Cross Road, Islington (1865) *Ambrosden Avenue, Devil's Acre,

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* Derby Buildings, Britannia Street, Camden * Old Tower Buildings, Brewhouse Lane,

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

(1864) * Compton Buildings, Finsbury (1871) * New Tower Buildings, Wapping High Street,

(1886) There were others in Old St Pancras Road, Wapping, Greenwich and Islington.National Archives acquisition LMA/4013
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Improved Industrial Dwellings Company Housing in London Philanthropic organisations based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1863 1863 establishments in the United Kingdom

Buildings

See also

References