1930s Slum Clearance in Hackney, London

Hackney Today revealed fascinating archive footage of Slum Clearance in 1930's Hackney.

http://wwwhttp://www.londonsscreenarchives.org.uk/public/details.php?id=241&searchId=15972

Heavy handed officials come to Banister Road to measure up, assess and ultimately to condemn and demolish working class housing in Hackney. The officious film shows glimpses of everyday life for poor Londoners, as the camera lens looks down its long nose at their lives.  The worst scenes are of the insect infestations and the damp wall paper, but otherwise the Londoners look cheerful, with the kids enjoying the outdoor life unsupervised.

What is notable is how messy the outhouses, and yards are - full of carts, plants and detritus.  But they provide a little bit of customisable space.  The rows of Victorian houses are replaced by large blocks of flat, which however neat they look, you feel the Londoners are crammed into them, and they look unresponsive to the idiosyncratic needs of the Londoners.

The film also shows at least one interesting piece of 1930's architecture which is Lennox House built in Zigurrat style by J E M MacGregor for Bethnal Green and East London Housing Association.   It is a forerunner of the Brunswick Estate in Bloomsbury.

http://www.heritage-explorer.co.uk/web/he/searchdetail.aspx?id=8267&crit=flat






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