Peabody Cycle Tour Directions DRAFT 3.indd

1862 - 2012
Peabody Cycle Tour: Westminster
80 Eaton Square – Westminster Abbey
The first ever Peabody Cycle Tour has been created to celebrate Peabody’s 150th anniversary. Since its creation
in 1862, Peabody has strived to ‘ameliorate the conditions of the poor in London’, carrying out the vision of its
founder, George Peabody. An American banker and philanthropist who made his home in London, George Peabody
donated a staggering £500,000 to improve the lives of people working in the capital. His legacy lives on - today, the
organisation provides homes for over 55,000 Londoners.
Stop 1: 80 Eaton Square
Just to the right of the main entrance to this magnificent building is a blue plaque. During the last month
of his life, George Peabody lived here with his friend, Curtis Miranda Lampson. Peabody had arrived in
London 32 years before, and lived at various addresses, including Cork Street and Regent Street. Since
Peabody’s death in 1869, a variety of famous names have lived on Eaton Square, including Neville
Chamberlain, Sean Connery, and Roman Abramovich.
Directions
Pedal to Sloane Square and turn left into Holbein Place beside the tube station. Turn left into Pimlico Road
(passing the shop frontages beneath the flats) and then turn left into Passmore Place. The estate is through
the arch on the left.
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Stop 2: Lumley Buildings, Ebury estate
Built in 1875 by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, the land had originally been acquired on a long lease from the Marquis of
Westminster. In most cases, the IIDC did not employ an architect. Normally, the blocks constructed by the IIDC were designed by their builder,
Matthew Allen, and it is believed he designed the Ebury blocks. Along with the Coleshill Buildings, the lease for the estate was acquired from
the IIDC by Peabody in 1984.
Directions
Retrace your route down Passmore Street, and turn left down Pimlico Road. Coleshill Buildings is approximately ¼ mile on your left (opposite St
Barnabas Street).
Stop 3: Coleshill Buildings, Ebury estate
Built in 1871, the completed blocks provided accommodation for 120 families, plus ten shops. More than half the dwellings had only one
bedroom, which prompted criticism of the design in an issue of The Builder, which was otherwise generally complimentary about the design.
In 1989, Coleshill Flats were given a Grade II listing.
Directions
Head down St Barnabas Street, turn right into Ebury Bridge Road, and turn left into the courtyard, between the two Peabody buildings which make
up the Chelsea Gardens estate.
Stop 4: Chelsea Gardens
Originally built in 1879, there have been several famous names based on the estate. While living at flat 104, the author Jerome K Jerome
(1857-1927) wrote Three Men in a Boat. Kenneth Grahame, who would later write The Wind in the Willows, lived at 65 Chelsea Gardens from
1882 to 1894, and worked as a clerk at the Bank of England. Although he was unmarried, he occupied an apartment of four rooms.
Directions
Continue down Lower Sloane Street, past the Lister hospital, towards the river. Turn left onto the Barclays Cycle SuperHighway. Continue down
Grosvenor Road, past the Victoria Station sidings, then turn left into Lupus Street, and left again into Peabody Avenue.
Stop 5: Peabody Avenue
All the way along Peabody Avenue, you can see Peabody architecture, old and new. Blocks A to M were
completed in 1876 – a report published in The Builder in April 1876 stated that these blocks were visited by
members of the Architectural Association. On the wall of Block N there is a memorial to 67 men who died
on active service in the First World War. In November 2005, a Channel 4 TV series, entitled ‘Not Forgotten’,
featured the war memorial. Presenter Ian Hislop interviewed the granddaughter of William Buckland, the
first man from the estate to be killed. During the Second World War, the estate received a visit from Prime
Minister Winston Churchill, who came to see the damage caused by an air raid.
Directions
Leave Peabody Avenue (to the north) by the Sutherland Street exit, turning right. Turn left at the junction
with Lupus Street. Keep pedalling for ½ mile, until you are opposite Pimlico tube station, just past the
junction of Aylesford Street. Look for the sign showing the entrance to Tachbrook estate - you can cycle
between the blocks through the estate.
Stop 6: Tachbrook estate
The earliest part of the estate was built for the Westminster Housing Trust between 1933 and 1935, and
was the first working-class flats in London to be served by self-operative electric lifts. On 16th February
1938, Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, paid a personal visit to the estate. The visit was kept
secret, so that the Queen could see tenants in their everyday circumstances. In 1972, the entire estate
was acquired by Peabody.
Directions
Exit from the corner of Malcolmson House, to Aylesford Street, and turn left towards the river. Turn left again,
picking up the Cycle Superhighway. Turn left at Vauxhall Bridge, left again into Bessborough Street and left
again into Bessborough Place. The estate is past the barrier.
Stop 7: Millbank estate: Bessborough Place
In 2011 the Crown decided to dispose of 4 residential London estates, including Pimlico, generating
interest from private investors and also a campaign by residents backed by MPs concerned about loss
of affordable housing. After the terms of the sale were varied Peabody was accepted as the preferred
purchaser which ensured continued protection for existing tenants and future use of the properties for
low cost rental. You can see the mix of key worker/intermediate rent housing and long leasehold around
Bessborough Street, Bessborough Place, Buonaparte Mews and at Thomson House. The remainder of this
prestigious Bessborough Gardens estate is private long leasehold and was retained by The Crown Estate.
Directions
From Bessborough Place, return down Bessborough Street, turn right into Vauxhall Bridge Road, and then
left into John Islip Street.
Stop 8: Millbank estate: John Islip Street, Ponsonby Place, Causton Street and Relish Cafeteria
John Islip Street was named after the renowned Abbot of the Monastery of Westminster during the Tudor era. Islip was in office from 1500
until his death in 1532, when like George Peabody, he was buried at Westminster Abbey. There are about 120 properties in these streets and
Peabody also owns and manages some of the ground floor corner shops. On the east side of the junction between Ponsonby Place and Causton
Street stands Mary Smith House identified by a plaque. Mary Smith MBE was a senior manager for The Crown in the post war years in charge of
the Millbank Office and later a governor of the Peabody Trust from 1988 – 1992. She was an important figure in the development of housing
management and also held the office of President of the Institute of Housing 1978 -1979. The café ‘Relish’ is part of the commercial portfolio
and you may wish to stop for a break.
Directions
Turn left into Ponsonby Place, down Causton Street, right into Regency Street. Turn left into Vincent Street then round Vincent Square to the far
corner. Left into Rochester Row and right into Vauxhall Bridge Road towards Victoria station, with Vauxhall estate on your right.
Stop 9: Vauxhall estate
Prior to the acquisition by Peabody, the land was occupied by terraces of houses which were built in the
mid-1840s. The estate was built in 1912 – at that time, there was a constant supply of hot water from a
tap in the courtyard, and for a penny a week, residents could make use of the pram and bicycle sheds. In
1913, a brochure was prepared for the visit of Peabody’s Governors. The frontispiece of the brochure was
a perspective drawing of the estate, and it was described as having been ‘exhibited in last year’s Royal
Academy Exhibition’. Vauxhall estate was damaged several times in bomb attacks during the Second
World War, but fortunately, no lives were claimed.
Directions
Go down Francis Street (due east) for ¼ mile, passing Willow Place, then turn right into Greencoat Row.
Greencoat Mansions is on your right, on the corner with Greencoat Place.
Stop 10: Greencoat Mansions
Originally built in 1892, the estate was acquired by Peabody in 1978. Greencoat Mansions falls within the Westminster Cathedral conservation
area. The estate is comprised of 11 bedsits and 15 one bedroom flats. For many years, a café was situated on the ground level of the estate,
where the Mexican Grill is today.
Directions
Continue down Greencoat Place, left into Emery Hill Street, and cross Rochester Row, and go along the Northeast side of Vincent Square. Turn left
into Elverton Street (by Royal Horticultural Halls), at end of Elverton Street turn left again, past the Channel 4 HQ sculpture on your right. The
Horseferry Road estate is on your right. Keep going down Horseferry Road, turn right at the mini-roundabout into Great Peter Street, rear entrance
on right through black metal gates.
Stop 11: Horseferry Road estate
In February 1914, it was reported to the Governors that the nearby Westminster Estate, opened in 1868, was ‘hardly satisfactory for the
purposes of the Fund’, and it was hoped that the tenants would be re-housed ‘under much more favourable conditions in another part of
Westminster’. Delayed by the onset of the First World War, the Horseferry Road estate opened in 1922. On 31st October 1940, in the height of
the Blitz, the estate received a direct hit and two residents were killed. Despite several further bomb attacks, no other deaths occurred during
the war. It is reported that, during a raid in March 1944, the estate porter saved the estate from destruction by an incendiary bomb.
Directions
Go back and over the mini roundabout, turning right at the next roundabout into Artillery Row. At the junction with Victoria Street, the Albert Pub
is located on the opposite corner. Set back from Buckingham Gate, there is a passage that you can walk around to Caxton Street, then back into
Christchurch Gardens, then back onto Victoria Street.
Stop 12: Pub: The Albert
At one time The Albert was frequented by MPs. Just behind the pub, where the Rolls-Royce building
stands today, used to stand Peabody’s Westminster estate. The fourth estate to be built by Peabody, it
opened in 1868, and was the last estate to be built in George Peabody’s lifetime. A newspaper report of
1869 records of the tenants that “although there is a resident superintendent who collects the rents, they
are subject to no unnecessary restraint or supervision”. By 1914, the trustees were becoming concerned
about the ‘anitquated design’ of the estate, and in 1922 the Horseferry Road estate had been built to
rehouse the Westminster tenants.
Directions
Head east along Victoria Street for 1/4 mile. Turn right into Perkin’s Rents, then turn right at the junction
with Old Pye Street, and you will pass the Old Pye Street estate on left. Turn left into St Matthew’s Street, and
you can enter the courtyards on the left between Blocks A and G.
Stop 13: Old Pye Street estate
Usually, Peabody bought a site, cleared it if necessary, and built new blocks. Here, uniquely among the pre-1900 estates, Peabody took over
four existing blocks. Look at blocks A to D. You will see that the brickwork is of a different colour, and the style of the gables is slightly more
ornate. In fact, they were designed for the original owner by Peabody’s architect, Henry Darbishire. The first four blocks were constructed in
the 1860s for another philanthropist, William Gibbs. Like Peabody, Gibbs was a successful and wealthy merchant banker, who also gave money
towards building several churches and the chapel of Keble College, Oxford. When he died in 1875, his widow asked the Peabody Trustees to
take over Rochester Buildings so that his good works could be continued. In the 1880s, Peabody built Blocks E to I, and an additional block was
built in the 1990s, which is named after Gibbs.
Directions
Go down St Matthews Street, turn left into Great Peter Street, then turn left into St Anne’s Street. The Abbey Orchard estate is on your left, past the
junction of Old Pye Street. Turn left into Abbey Orchard Street, and entrance is on the left between A and B. As you go into courtyard, there’s a war
memorial on the right.
Stop 14: Abbey Orchard estate
In medieval times, the orchard of Westminster Abbey stood here, but by the 19th century, the area
was an unhealthy maze of narrow alleys and courtyards. Cottages were crammed together, alongside
stables, cowsheds, coalyards, lodging houses, and a ragged school for pauper children. Small and poorly
ventilated dwellings were severely overcrowded, crime was rife, and the police entered the area at their
peril. The area acquired the nickname ‘The Devil’s Acre’. The area was a haunt for prostitutes, and the
courtyards were filthy with accumulated rubbish. By 1876, 459 people were living in 18 lodging houses.
Peabody built the estate in 1882, rehousing over 1700 people displaced by the slum clearance. As a
result, some of the blocks rise to six storeys.
Directions
Return along Abbey Orchard Street, then left into Great Smith Street, then turn right into Victoria Street, and
keep walking up to Abbey Green. From here, you can see the Houses of Parliament.
Stop 15: Houses of Parliament
As part of their modernising programme, the Peabody’s Governors secured the Peabody Donation Fund Act in 1948, which came into force on
1 January 1949: “This Act, which takes the place of the Royal Charter granted in 1900, simplifies the general administration of the Fund and
extends the area in which the Fund may operate to an area lying within a circle having its centre at the Royal Exchange and a radius of 25 miles
from the centre”. Just as in the past, few people could discern exactly what role Peabody was to play in the 1950s, and there was considerable
uncertainty about the role of a housing society in a changing and economically unviable world.
Stop 16: Westminster Abbey
George Peabody died on 4 November 1869, aged 74. The Dean of Westminster felt that he should be buried
in Westminster Abbey, but Peabody’s executors already knew that he wanted to be buried in America. A
compromise was reached, and two funerals were arranged, the first in Westminster Abbey on 12 November.
Vast crowds lined the London pavements to watch the procession, and Queen Victoria sent her carriage
to follow the coffin as a mark of respect. Prime Minister William Gladstone and the Lord Mayor of London
were among the attendees. Having been interred for a month at the Abbey, his body was taken to Waterloo
Station, ready for the sea voyage to America. Again, huge crowds lined the route. A floor plaque now marks
the spot where his body was temporarily laid to rest, and it bears Peabody’s own words: “I have prayed my
Heavenly Father day by day that I might be enabled before I died to show my gratitude for the blessings
which he has bestowed upon me by doing great good to my fellow men.” The plaque can still be seen today
– it is not far from the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.