Heritage Statement Peabody House Greenman Street

9652:GQ

HERITAGE STATEMENT

IN SUPPORT OF THE PLANNING AND LISTED BUILDING APPLICATIONS FOR THE ALTERATION OF THE EXISTING BUILDING, KNOWN AS

PEABODY HOUSE GREENMAN STREET ISLINGTON

SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF

PEABODY

GILES QUARME & ASSOCIATES

ARCHITECTS & CONSERVATION SPECIALISTS 7 BISHOPS TERRACE LONDON SE11 4UE TEL: 020 7582 0748 FAX: 020 7793 8807 Email: [email protected] Website: www.quarme.com

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Site Description and History

3. Proposed Development

4. Legislation, Planning Policy and Guidance

5. Assessment of the Application

6. Conclusion

Appendices: Drawings

A: 1936 : Victor Wilkins

B: 1964: FEF Atkinson FRIBA

C: 1983 Peabody Trust’s Architect’s Department

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Peabody Estate, Islington Job No. 9652

HERITAGE STATEMENT FOR THE PEABODY HOUSE, PEABODY ESTATE, ISLINGTON, LONDON N1W

1. Introduction:

Giles Quarme and Associates, Historic Building Architects and Consultants, were commissioned by Mr Adam Preece of Peabody to produce a Heritage Statement in support of the proposed alterations by Neill McLaughlin Architects of the listed building known as Peabody House, The Peabody Estate, Islington, London N1.

Peabody, formerly known as the Peabody Trust and before that the Peabody Donation Fund, recognises the Historic and Architectural significance of the Peabody House that is reflected in its Grade II statutory listing. The brief it provided to the architects required them to bring the building back into beneficial use and to convert it onto three self contained residential units. Peabody required the architects to ensure that the conversion work was done in a manner which preserved as much historic fabric as possible whilst at the same time providing the desired accommodation.

The building was inspected by Giles Quarme in the company of Adam Preece and Tim Allen-Booth of Neill McLaughlin Architects on Wednesday 14th September 2011. Prior to visiting the site GQ was provided with the pre-application response from the local authority in relation to the initial proposals for altering the building. In addition GQ was provided with a copy of the Peabody Estate’s Conservation Guidelines produced jointly by English Heritage and The Peabody Estate in 2001.

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2. Site Description and History

2.1 Name and Address of Site

Peabody House, The Peabody Estate, Greenman Street, Islington, London N1. The property is owned by the Peabody Trust.

2.2 History of the Peabody Estate

George Peabody (1795-1869) was a wealthy American banker and philanthropist who established the Trust in 1862.

The stock has over 17,000 homes, mostly consisting of densely-built sites in inner London.

The first site purchased by the Trust was in 1863 in Commercial Street, Spitalfields. Henry Astley Darbishire (1825-1899) designed two long blocks that stretched along two streets meeting at the junction of Commercial Street. The site was small and rather awkward.

The Commercial Street scheme was not entirely typical of subsequent ‘classic’ estates in that there were no shops in later schemes; also the ‘standard’courtyard had not yet appeared and the style of the buildings was to change from Gothic to Italianate. But there were certain similarities, such as the grouping together of the service areas vertically, the corridor system and the limited number of staircases, as well as the association with Cubitts, the contracting firm responsible for most of the subsequent estates.

The earliest surviving ‘classic’ estate of Peabody Buildings in London is the Islington Estate, which dates from 1864, with others at Shadwell, Blackfriars and Chelsea dating from soon afterwards.

English Heritage consider these early ‘classic’ estates as of “seminal historic importance” being among the first to address the problems of housing the poor in a consistent and systematic way.

The ‘classic’ estates built between 1864 and 1885 were also all designed by one architect, Henry Darbishire and bear a coherent architectural design.

The Islington Estate redesigned the approach to housing of the “deserving poor” and acted as a paradigm, not only for all the subsequent estates, but for other social housing in different parts of London.

The foundation of the Peabody Trust in 1862 was of tremendous importance in London. Housing societies, such as the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes, had sprung into existence within two years of the publication of Edwin Chadwick’s report on the condition of towns in 1842.

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These associations tended to be small and not sufficiently funded to be effective in addressing the problems of housing the large number of poor.

The Trust, which was generously funded with a substantial gift of £150,000, became one of the most successful of all philanthropic housing organisations. Peabody’s generous gift, which was then subsequently increased to £500,000, provided sufficient funds to make a significant difference. The Trust along with Sydney Waterlow’s Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, launched in 1863, proved that private enterprise could address the housing problem with an approach that was both philanthropic and commercially viable.

In this period the local authority and the central government did not consider it a responsibility to house the poor or people who could not afford to purchase or rent adequately constructed properties.

The Islington Estate, opened in September 1865, set the pattern for the rest of Peabody Estates throughout the capital until the architect’s retirement from the Trust in 1894. It is the oldest surviving Peabody Estate in the Trust’s ownership.

The Peabody Trust selected “Ward’s Place” as the location for their new housing because by the middle of the 19th century the once salubrious suburb of Islington had degenerated into one subsequently described by Appleton’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art as having been

“formerly inhabited by a dense population of the worst character of the Metropolis, who herded together with little or no attention to morality or decency” (31 July 1869)

Detail of Islington Parish Map, 1862

The Estate was fully occupied by 1866, the cost of the development inclusive of the sum paid for the land, amounted to £40,397.

The arrangement of the housing at Islington on the Peabody Islington Estate was revolutionary. The traditional street, with back alleys and yards, was

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replaced by four detached blocks arranged in a perfect square around a central open space, the aim being to permit a free circulation of air, and to serve as playgrounds for the children of the tenants. The iron gates closed the entrance at 11.00pm cutting out all undesirable neighboursstop.

Internal courtyard to Peabody Blocks A to C

To the East of the original four blocks was Peabody Yard which contained two ranges of workshops, twelve in total which were built for rent at six shillings and sixpence per week. Controlling access to the site was the Superintendant’s House which is the subject of this application. Provision for coal stores and, later, pram sheds were also made on the site. Some of these still survive.

1871: Ordnance Survey First Edition

Subsequently in 1884 more land was bought from the Metropolitan Board of Works to the South of the square. Five further blocks in a similar Italianate style were constructed in 1885 including additional boundary walls. The new blocks backed onto Dibden Str

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1894-6: Ordnance Survey Second Edition

The blocks are of nine bays wide and five storeys high with narrow blocks for baths and lavatories at each end. Each block originally housed sixty families or a total of two hundred and fifty people.

The design is clearly taken from the Italianate style which had been made fashionable by Charles Barry at the Travellers and the Reform Clubs in Pall Mall.

The new buildings were well publicised and illustrated in the Illustrated London News of March 1866.The illustration shows the blocks being surmounted by turrets placed in the centre of each block. These were subsequently taken down probably when the upper floor, which had been set aside for laundries, was converted into tenements.

The provision of communal lavatories and sinks survived up until 1911 when private facilities were then introduced. Once people began to do their washing in their own flats, from around 1915, the old laundries on the top floor began to be converted into tenements.

The blocks were subsequently modernised between 1957 and 1962.

Internally the blocks have changed significantly over last century as the living standards required have been gradually improved. The original flats were extremely small with a four bedroomed flat having only 154 square feet, a three bedroomed flat having only 134 square feet and a two bedroomed flat having only 122 square feet. In order to increase space the spine corridor in the flats was removed in the 1950s to allow the enlarged rooms.

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With the exception of the loss of the Turrets, the buildings survive externally much as they were originally designed. That design has not always been appreciated in the more recent past. Nikolaus Pevsner described one of the blocks as “familiar, but nonetheless detestable”. Their architectural and social qualities are now better recognised and appreciated, which is reflected in their listed building status.

2.3 Listed Building Description

Peabody House is Listed Grade II and the listed building description is as follows:

House. 1865 by Henry Darbishire. Stock brick with grey brick bands, slate roof and brick stacks. Irregular trapezoid plan of two bays to street, canted three bays to side with door and irregular glazing. Three stories front with two/two sash windows to right and over carriage entrance to workshops. Segmental and pointed arched head. ‘Peabody Yard’ in moulded cornice over carriage entrance to left. Part of a Model Peabody Trust Development.

It was listed in 1996 along with the slightly later Peabody Estate in Southwark (1871).

1986: Ordnance Survey Map showing listed buildings: Blocks A, B, C and D and Peabody House and the Workshops in Peabody Yard

2.4 Setting of the Listed Building

Peabody House forms part of the Model Peabody Trust Development referred to above. Of the nine buildings that form the core of the estate the four nearest

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the Peabody House which encloses the square are listed Grade II. In addition they are as follows, Peabody Square Block A, Block B, Block C and Block D.

Block A faces onto Greenman Street and is adjacent to Peabody House.

Peabody Block A facing onto Greenman Street. The other five buildings which also form part of the development lie within the curtilage of these listed buildings and are therefore provided with listed building protection even though they are not listed in their own right.

Other buildings on the site that are listed are the workshops at 1-12 Peabody Yard which are also listed Grade II. These are located near the Peabody House.

Peabody Yard and listed workshops.

2.5 Conservation Area and Other Heritage Assets

Conservation areas: there are no conservation areas in the immediate vicinity of Greenman Street and the Peabody Estate.

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Locally listed buildings: at the west end of Greenman Street at the junction with Essex Road is a locally listed public house.

Locally listed public house at junction of Greenman Street and Essex Road

Protected trees: there are no trees with TPOs within the immediate vicinity of the estate.

Nearby listed buildings: on the north side at the east end of Greenman Street is Tibberton Square which backs onto Greenman Street. The early Victorian terraced houses are listed Grade II.

Grade II listed Tibberton Square

Greenman Street escaped any significant damage during the second world war as evidenced by the LCC bomb damage maps, 1939-1945. The late 18th /early 19th century houses with their large rear gardens, that can seen in the OS map of 1871, survived up to the creation of the first phase of the Peabody Estate.

By 1894-6 the OS map shows that these house have generally been cleared away to allow the creation of municipal baths and wash houses which survived up to the late 20th century, and were demolished following the second world war. The Victorian terraces on the south side of Greenman Street which © 2012 GQA W:\current work\Live Jobs\9600-9699\9652 Peabody Estate, Islington\12.02.22 Final Heritage Statement for The Peabody House.doc

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adjoined Peabody House were all demolished and redeveloped to provide new local authority housing. Only the public house immediately adjacent to the Peabody House survives.

London County Council Bomb Damage Map

2.6 Historical Sources

a) Drawings

No drawings by Henry Darbishire survive in the Peabody Archives for any of the Peabody buildings.

In the case of the Superintendant’s House, Peabody House, later survey drawings survive from:

! 1936 by Victor Wilkins, FRIBA; and ! 1964 FEF Atkinson FRIBA ! 1983 by the Peabody Trust Architects department

Reference and comments on both sets of drawings is provided in section xyz.

b) Documents and Secondary Sources

A brief outline is provided in English Heritage Conservation Guidelines. In addition the following has been consulted:

1. Survey of London: Volume XXVII 2. The London Encyclopaedia by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert 3. The London County Council Bomb Damage Maps, 1939-1945

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3. Proposed Development

3.1 Condition of the Building

Peabody House is a three storey former manager’s house for the adjoining Peabody Estate.

It has not been significantly altered externally since its original construction. The only significant alteration being the reconstruction and extension of the service wing backing onto the main staircase which was carried out in the late 19th early 20th Century.

The original single storey extension can be seen in the 1871 and 1894 Ordnance Survey maps. The current extension extends across the full width of the rear as well as extending up the full height of the building. The survey and proposal plans by Wilkinson and others, (see appendices) all show the new rear extension.

Peabody House: Rear elevation showing the later three storey extension to the left of the carriageway

However, internally the building has been significantly altered.

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Peabody House: First floor door opening: created in 1964 with modern door lining and architraves

Record drawings from 1936 by Victor Wilkins, FEF Atkinson in 1964 and again in 1983 by the Peabody Trust Architects Department illustrate further internal modifications that have continued to erode the historic plan form and have resulted in the almost total loss of the historic fixtures and fittings, such as fireplaces, grates, skirtings, architraves and panelled doors.

Peabody House: Typical room: simple skirting with no ceiling cornice. The box frame and architrave are original

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The 1983 proposals involved the building’s conversion for use as a small “Hostel for the Homeless” containing seven bedsits, communal kitchens and bathrooms as well as an office.

The hostel accommodation was abandoned because it failed to meet current standards and the property is currently occupied by temporary licensed tenants.

Internally the neglect over the intervening period has resulted in the condition of the building deteriorating. It is proposed to convert the building into self contained flats which will permit the building to be brought back into permanent, beneficial use which will provide an income which will assist the Peabody in funding the repair refurbishment and future maintenance of the listed building.

3.2 Proposed Alterations to Interior

The building is to be converted in to self contained flats on each floor: ! I bedroom/2 person flat ! first floor: 2 bedroom/3-4 person flat ! second floor: 2 bedroom/3-4 person flat

Survey and proposal plans of the ground and first/second floor flats are provided by Niall McLaughlin Architects.

These show the proposed changes to the cellular structure of the listed building.

A detailed explanation of their brief and the design evolution is contained in their Design and Access Statement.

Various alternative layout options were proposed and discussed with the Local Authority Conservation Officer. He felt that as the ground floor plan was the least changed then it was desirable that modifications to the plan form should be restricted to blocking up or altering door openings rather than demolishing “historic” walls.

The current proposals were finally agreed with the Conservation Officer and they involve the retention of the walls around the bedroom and kitchen/dining/living room and the provision of a separate bathroom at the end of the corridor adjacent to the fire exit. The staircase down to the basement, which was blocked up in 1964, is to be re-opened allowing access and use of the basement for storage.

The flats on the first and second floors have involved more radical alterations to the plan form, but as they had been more seriously compromised by the conversion work carried out in 1964 and 1983, (which also resulted in the loss of most of the fixtures and fittings including the blocking up and loss of all the fireplaces), are acceptable.

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Peabody House: Original staircase newel post at first floor looking down to entrance door on Peabody Square

It is proposed to retain and box-in the bottom flight of stairs from the entrance door and west elevation from Peabody Square down to the lower ground floor so that the staircase can be re-opened and restored in the future should the proposed use of the building change.

Peabody House: Altered staircase with modern newel and mopstick handrail probably constructed in 1964

The proposed alterations to the ground floor are generally neutral and only have a minor adverse effect on the character of the building.

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