Watling Estate
| Watling Estate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Burnt Oak, London |
| Coordinates | 51°36′30″N 0°15′54″W / 51.60827°N 0.26500°W |
| Status | established |
| Area | 387 acres (157 ha) |
| No. of units | 4021(1931), 4055(1938) |
| Construction | |
| Constructed | 1924–1931 |
| Architect | G. Topham Forrest |
| Contractors | Direct service organisation |
| Authority | London County Council |
| Style | Council garden estate |
| Influence | Garden city movement |
The Watling Estate is in Burnt Oak, in the Edgware district of the London Borough of Barnet. It was one of twelve London County Council cottage estates built between the wars to provide "homes fit for heroes". There are 4032 homes set in 386 acres (156 ha).[1]
Location
[edit]In the 1850s, Burnt Oak referred to no more than a field on the eastern side of the Edgware Road (Watling Street). By the 1860s plans were in place to build three residential streets: North Street, East Street, and South Street. The area was generally known as Red Hill until the opening of Burnt Oak tube station on the Northern line of the London Underground on 27 October 1924. It was on farmland to the south-east of the community in Edgware Road, that London Transport constructed a new road, Watling Avenue, and London County Council built the Watling Estate housing estate. In September 1931 Jack Cohen opened his first Tesco store at 54 Watling Avenue, Burnt Oak.[2][3][4]
History
[edit]| Estate name | Area | No of dwellings | Population 1938 | Population density |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-1914 | ||||
| Norbury | 11 | 218 | 867 | 19.8 per acre (49/ha) |
| Old Oak | 32 | 736 | 3519 | 23 per acre (57/ha) |
| Totterdown Fields | 39 | 1262 | — | 32.4 per acre (80/ha) |
| Tower Gardens White Hart Lane |
98 | 783 | 5936 | 8 per acre (20/ha) |
| 1919–1923 | ||||
| Becontree | 2770 | 25769[a] | 115652 | 9.3 per acre (23/ha) |
| Bellingham | 252 | 2673 | 12004 | 10.6 per acre (26/ha) |
| Castelnau | 51 | 644 | 2851 | 12.6 per acre (31/ha) |
| Dover House Estate Roehampton Estate |
147 | 1212 | 5383 | 8.2 per acre (20/ha) |
| 1924–1933 | ||||
| Downham | 600 | 7096 | 30032 | 11.8 per acre (29/ha) |
| Mottingham | 202 | 2337 | 9009 | 11.6 per acre (29/ha) |
| St Helier | 825 | 9068 | 39877 | 11 per acre (27/ha) |
| Watling | 386 | 4034 | 19110 | 10.5 per acre (26/ha) |
| Wormholt | 68 | 783 | 4078 | 11.5 per acre (28/ha) |
| 1934–1939 | ||||
| Chingford[b] | 217 | 1540 | — | 7.1 per acre (18/ha) |
| Hanwell (Ealing) | 140 | 1587 | 6732 | 11.3 per acre (28/ha) |
| Headstone Lane | 142 | n.a | 5000 | |
| Kenmore Park | 58 | 654 | 2078 | 11.3 per acre (28/ha) |
| Thornhill (Royal Borough of Greenwich) |
21 | 380 | 1598 | 18.1 per acre (45/ha) |
| Whitefoot Lane (Downham) | 49 | n.a | n.a. | |
|
Source:
| ||||
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 70)[5] encouraged the London authority to improve the housing in their areas.[6] It also gave them the power acquire land and to build tenements and houses (cottages).[1] The First World War indirectly provided a new impetus, when the poor physical health and condition of many urban recruits to the army was noted with alarm. This led to a campaign known as 'Homes fit for Heroes'. In 1919 the Government, through The Addison Act (Housing Act 1919) the required councils to provide housing built to the Tudor Walters standards. It helped them to do so through the provision of subsidies.[7] These were then removed by the Geddes Axe of 1922, and partially restored by the Wheatley Act of 1924.
Thus LCC was actively looking for suitable land when the Northern line was extended in 1934, opening up a new transport corridor. LCC quickly purchased 387 acres (157 ha) of farmland adjacent to the new Burnt Oak tube station. The plans were drawn up by the LCC's chief architect, George Forrest. He set aside 48 acres (19 ha) for allotments and parks and 16 acres (6.5 ha) for schools and public buildings. The rest was for housing.[8]
Design
[edit]Planning the estate
[edit]In 1912 Raymond Unwin published a pamphlet Nothing gained by Overcrowding.[9] These ideas influenced the Tudor Walters Report of 1918. The report recommended housing in short terraces, spaced at 70 feet (21 m) at a density of 12 to the acre: and this defined the Watling Estate. The estate shows all the signs of the "garden city movement". Care was taken to exploit the undulating ground, offering vistas and long views. There are cul de sacs. The terraces are indeed short and stepped back at road corners to open up the space. Throughout the estate runs the Silk Stream, and the banks have been used to create parks and internal open-space.[8]
Houses and flats
[edit]| House
with out a parlour |
Area sq ft (m2) | Volume cu ft (m3) | House
with a parlour |
Area sq ft (m2) | Volume cu ft (m2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parlour | 120 (11) | 960 (27) | |||
| Living Room | 180 (17) | 1,440 (41) | Living Room | 180 (17) | 1,440 (41) |
| Scullery | 80 (7.4) | 640 (18) | Scullery | 80 (7.4) | 640 (18) |
| Larder | 24 (2.2) | - | Larder | 24 (2.2) | - |
| Bedroom No. 1 | 150 (14) | 1,200 (34) | Bedroom No. 1 | 160 (15) | 1,280 (36) |
| Bedroom No. 2 | 100 (9.3) | 800 (23) | Bedroom No. 2 | 120 (11) | 960 (27) |
| Bedroom No. 3 | 65 (6.0) | 520 (15) | Bedroom No. 3 | 110 (10) | 880 (25) |
| Total | 855 sq ft (79.4 m2) | 1,055 sq ft (98.0 m2) | |||
| Desirable Minimum sizes – Tudor Walters Committee[10] | |||||
There were 4012 dwellings on the estate. Most were traditional brick; there were 252 'Atholl' steel and 464 timber-frame homes built as experiments. It was hoped that they would be cheaper and quicker to build. Most were larger family homes: there was a mix of parlour and non-parlour types. There were also around 320 flats, built in low-rise blocks.[8]
The facilities
[edit]The main shopping parade on Watling Avenue was built in 1930. The first school opened in 1928, the large Watling Central School in 1931.[8]
Community
[edit]The initial tenants were selected by London County Council. Like other estates, they were a relatively well-off though overwhelmingly working-class population with small families. 20% were skilled manual, 20% transport workers and 10% clerical with wages between £3 and £4 a week. Almost half of the incomers were under 18.[8]
The estate was seen as a threat by the older citizens of Edgware who dubbed it "Little Moscow".[11] and likened the initiative to one of the "raw, red tentacles of that housing octopus, the London County Council".[8]
Conservation area
[edit]The Watling Estate was made a conservation area in 2007.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Notes
- ^ a b Yelling 1995.
- ^ Corina 1971.
- ^ Hosken 2007.
- ^ Ryle 2013.
- ^ "Housing of The Working Classes Act, 1890". Irish Statutes. Government of Ireland. 1890. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ^ "History of Council Housing". University of the West of England. 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Council Housing". Living Heritage-Improving towns. UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Municipal Dreams 30 September 2014.
- ^ Parkinson-Bailey 2000, p. 153.
- ^ Manoochehri 2009, p. 70.
- ^ Municipal Dreams 7 October 2014.
- ^ "Watling Estate Character Appraisal" (PDF). Barnet: London Borough. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- Bibliography
- "The Watling Estate, Burnt Oak: 'the raw, red tentacles of that housing octopus, the London County Council'". Municipal Dreams. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- "The Watling Estate, Burnt Oak: 'Building the new England'". Municipal Dreams. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- Corina, Maurice (1971). Pile It High Sell It Cheap: The Authorised Biography of Sir Jack Cohen. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
- Hosken, Andrew (2007). Nothing Like a Dame: The Scandals of Shirley Porter. Granta. ISBN 9781862079229.
- Manoochehri, Jamileh (2009). Social policy and housing: reflections of social values (PDF) (PhD). University College London. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- Parkinson-Bailey, John J. (2000). Manchester: an Architectural History. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-5606-3.
- Ryle, Sarah (2013). The Making of Tesco: A story of British Shopping. Random House. ISBN 9781448127474.
- Yelling, J.A. (1995). "Banishing London's slums: The interwar cottage estates" (PDF). Transactions. 46. London and Middlesex Archeological Society: 167–173. Retrieved 19 December 2016. Quotes: Rubinstein, 1991, Just like the country.
Further reading
[edit]- Rubinstein, Antonia; Andrews, Andy; Schweitzer, Pam (1991). Just like the country (part 1) (PDF). Age Exchange. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Rubinstein, Antonia; Andrews, Andy; Schweitzer, Pam (1991). Just like the country (part 2) (PDF). Age Exchange. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.