January’s HHS lecture was unusual for two reasons.
First, it was “off-patch”, taking as its subject one of London’s earliest housing estates – that happens to be in Tottenham.
Second, the speaker (the wonderfully animated Ruth Crowley) has no formal qualifications as an historian or researcher. Instead, she arrived with a passion for her subject that inspired her enthusiastic audience.
The Birth of Council Housing
Ruth opened with a perspective on the late nineteenth century and the shocking housing conditions in parts of central and east London. The London County Council was one of the first authorities in England to start clearing slums, buying land and building new accommodation to a standard not previously seen – largely due to the work of LCC Architect W. E Riley.
Ruth described many of the important architectural details of the estate (built over fifteen years and also known as the White Hart Lane Estate) and drew parallels with the design features of many of the properties on Muswell Hill’s Rookfield Estate.
When the Greater London Council was abolished, all its housing stock was transferred to the host boroughs. For Tower Gardens this has meant a slowly unfolding catalogue of neglect.
A Community Fights Back
Ruth was passionate in describing how important acknowledging, managing and maintaining the heritage and social aspects of this wonderful estate have been in contributing to a strong sense of pride and community cohesion.
She also appealed for media and professional help in preventing the sale of 100 Tower Gardens Road. Built in 1920 as the estate office, more recently it has been used for community meetings and events. Haringey have given Ruth and their colleagues three months to try and raise the asking price.
HHS members can find out more by visiting https://www.towergardens.org.uk/.
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Image credits
“Tower Gardens Estate end terrace house, Tottenham” by Julian Osley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph Britain and Ireland
Ruth Crowley, via Author’s collection