| Summary : Lansbury Estate, a public housing estate in the Poplar area of London, was built as a 'live architecture exhibition' for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Built in 1951-54 upon a site devastated by bombing during the Second World War, the exhibition was intended to showcase Britain's post-war reconstruction. The Lansbury 'formula' was not intended as a model for London, however, but for New Towns such as Stevenage and Harlow. The exhibition comprised both temporary and permanent buildings, with the former comprising three separate structures. One was a tent housing displays with the theme 'New Towns for Old', another was a pavilion containing information on housing maintenance issues, and the final structure was a mock-Tudor house called 'Gremlin Grange' displaying the structural failures of suburban homes. The permanent exhibition, comprising all the permanent buildings on the estate, was only partially completed when the Festival opened. It comprised housing including a home for the elderly, a shopping centre, market square, two public houses, three schools for children of various ages and two churches. In 1998, Lansbury was assigned Conservation Area status. |
More information : Lansbury Estate, a public housing estate in the Poplar area of London, was built as a 'live architecture exhibition' for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Built upon a site of terraced houses and public buildings devastated by bombing during the Second World War, the exhibition was intended to showcase Britain's post-war reconstruction. The Lansbury 'formula' was not intended as a model for London, however, but for New Towns such as Stevenage and Harlow.
The exhibition comprised both temporary and permanent buildings and it was decided that 80% of the area would be designed by private architects and the remainder by public architects. Making up the temporary exhibition was a tent housing displays with the theme 'New Towns for Old', a pavilion containing information on various housing maintenance issues, and lastly, a three-quarter scale mock-Tudor house called 'Gremlin Grange' displaying structural failures of suburban homes.
The permanent exhibition, comprising all the permanent buildings on the estate, was only partially completed when the Festival opened. The housing was unfinished when the Festival began, only nearing completion towards the end of the Festival. The central housing area was designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe, Peter Shepheard, Graham Dawbarn and Edward Armstrong while a home for the elderly, built in 1950-1, was designed by Judith Ledeboer.
The shopping centre designed by Frederick Gibberd was started in May 1950 and completed in November 1951, while the Clock Tower, the most prominent landmark of the estate, wasn't built until 1952. The shopping centre also included a market square which had a public house at each end, which were also designed by Gibberd. On 2 May 1951, the Festival Inn, located at the western end was officially opened, while the other public house called the Festive Briton, and later Callaghans, was completed in July 1952.
The Susan Lawrence School for infant and juniors, built to the designs of the firm Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall, was the most admired of all buildings on the site and it had been completed and in use for a term by May 1951. The Elizabeth Lansbury Nursery School, built by London County Council, opened in 1952 and the St Philip Howard Secondary School received its first pupils in September 1951.
While only the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church were visible during the Festival, it was 1954 before it was complete. Like the Roman Catholic Church which was designed by Adrian Gilbert Scott, the Trinity Congregational Church had been completely destroyed by bombing during the war and was rebuilt. Built to the designs of Douglas Stark and Cecil Handisyde, it also housed the original bell which had survived the attack.
According to Harwood, Lansbury '...was bright, cheerful and human in scale at a time when nothing else had been built.' Furthermore, it is significant for having occupied '..a pioneering place in the New Towns movement..' In 1998, Lansbury was assigned Conservation Area status. (1)
This guide provided visitors to the Lansbury estate during the Festival of Britain with full details of what they could expect to see. It also contains floor plans of various buildings as well as photographs of scale models. (2)
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