Blackfriars Estate 150 year anniversary and Peabody history tour

Henry Darbishire

Meet at the Peabody history tent

Peabody Square, Blackfriars Road, Southwark London, SE1 8HU

Architect on site, Family activities during open house festival

Travel Information

Nearest tube: Elephant & Castle, Lambeth North, Southwark

Nearest train: Waterloo, Elephant & Castle

Bus routes: 40, 63

Join us for the 150 year anniversary of our Blackfriars Estate. We'll be running tours Saturday 4 September 2021 from 12.15 – 12.45pm, and 1.45 – 2.15pm. The community event will run from 12pm - 3pm with speeches at 1pm.

History

The Blackfriars estate was built in 1871, on the former site of The Magdalen Hospital for the Reception of Penitent Prostitutes. The cost of purchase was covered by George Peabody’s original donation, and the estate was the sixth to be built by Peabody. Demand for homes in the area was high, and the estate was expanded from its original sixteen blocks to nineteen, providing 384 homes.

In 1871 the Architectural Journal praised the estate. Noting its spacious layout and surrounding trees, it considered Blackfriars to be ‘more home-like and less barracky’ than some of our early developments. In 1939 it was provided with underground air-raid shelters, but the buildings suffered damage from bombing in 1940, 1941 and 1944.

On 11th July 1962 HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visited the estateand unveiled a plaque to mark the centenary of the founding of Peabody. Fifty years later it was the venue for a street party to celebrate Peabody’s latest great anniversary, which was attended by Simon Hughes MP.