| Downham Estate | |
|---|---|
 Downham Estate | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Downham Estate, Downham Way,Lewisham,London |
| Coordinates | 51°25′47″N0°00′18″E / 51.429784°N 0.005100°E /51.429784; 0.005100, |
| Area | 522 acres |
| Construction | |
| Architect | George Topham Forrest |
| Authority | London County Council |
TheDownham Estate is aLondon County Council cottage estate inDownham, south eastLondon. It is in theLondon Borough of Lewisham
The Downham Estate provides an example of the programme of buildingcouncil housing occurring inBritain between theFirst andSecond World Wars. The estate was constructed between 1924 and 1930 to plans by the LCC architect George Topham Forrest.[1] One of the first houses to be completed was ceremonially opened in 1927 byKing George V.[2]
Among other similar developments around London (for exampleBecontree), it was developed to help alleviate the chronic shortage of housing in London, partly brought about by the complete cessation of building during World War I. It was intended to show what could be achieved by public-sector house-building: particularly in order to provide better housing for those who had lived in the slums of the city. The building of the Estate attracted subsidies from central government and was constructed under the auspices of theLondon County Council.
The estate covered an area of 522 acres (2.1 km2), of which 461 acres (1.9 km2) were in theMetropolitan Borough of Lewisham, (from 1965 theLondon Borough of Lewisham) and 61 acres (0.2 km2) in theMunicipal Borough of Bromley (from 1965 theLondon Borough of Bromley); altogether it covered a distance of 1.25 miles (2 km). The land had previously been mainly rural although aroundGrove Park railway station in the east of the area there had been some development; between Lewisham and Bromley was virtually the end of London at that time. 5659 houses were constructed of varying sizes; and there were also 408 flats (apartments) in blocks up to four storeys in height.
Downham was named in honour ofLord Downham, who waschairman of the London County Council during 1919–20. The first tenants of the estate were mainly former residents of inner city areas, such asRotherhithe and the accommodation was spacious and luxurious compared with their former dwellings.
| 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. | |
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51°25′37″N0°00′43″E / 51.427°N 0.012°E /51.427; 0.012
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