150 years of social housing projects
»Peabody Trust« can be seen on residential estates in many parts of London. It is a charity, founded in 1862 by George Peabody in response to a critical shortage of housing. At this time, journeys by public transport from the suburbs to places of work near the city centre such as the docks were too expensive for most workers. Overcrowding and disease in inner-city slums were the consequence.
Peabody had already made a fortune in America as a wholesaler when he came to London in 1827 and multiplied his wealth in the banking business. He later invested shrewdly in American railways and was an active philanthropist on both sides of the Atlantic who endowed his trust in London with half a million pounds, a truly enormous sum at that time. The Peabody Trust built accommodation with high ceilings and large windows to provide light and air, as well as wash-houses and water closets for hygiene, and let them for reasonable rents. The first estate was built in 1863 in Spitalfields. Within 25 years, the Peabody Trust constructed 5000 homes, including those in Whitecross Street in 1883. The architecture, though solidly handsome, is austere in a way that matches the past and present regulations for tenants – cycling and skateboarding, ball games and music are prohibited in the courtyards, which have just a smattering of greenery. Sober, clean and orderly have been the watchwords for 150 years.
Info
Address Whitecross Street, EC1Y 8JL | Public Transport Barbican (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Line) | Tip On Thursdays and Fridays, delicious street food adds an international touch to the otherwise basic market (Mon–Fri 10am–5pm) in Whitecross Street.
Until the 1970s, two flats shared a wash-house and WC in Whitecross Street. Though small by modern standards, the rooms compare favourably with most council housing of the 1960s and 1970s. Today, the Peabody Trust administers 20,000 apartments in London. A statue behind the Royal Exchange has commemorated its founder since his death in 1869.
Nearby
Back
To the online map