Angell Town, Lambeth
Now a large housing complex on the Brixton/Stockwell border, Angell Town takes its name from the eccentric landowner John Angell, who died in 1784
A sculpture by Jason Gibilaro, commissioned for Angell Town by the Metropolitan Housing Trust
John Angell’s grandfather, Justinian, had acquired the property by marriage. Angell Town was built up in the early 19th century as a desirable estate for the new middle classes.
Most of the old town was replaced in the 1970s by a council estate that combined 1960s-style blocks with the newer concept of overhead walkways and linking bridges, some of which were later removed in an attempt to prevent robbers and vandals making easy getaways. A bridge was supposed to cross Brixton Road to the social facilities on the Stockwell Park estate, but it was never built.
Angell Town soon gained a reputation for neglect and decline and became stigmatised as a sink estate. In a scheme notable for the high degree of residents’ participation in the consultative process, the estate was radically redeveloped from the mid-1990s. The deck-access system was converted to a street format based on terraced homes with individual entrances and unused garages were replaced with shops and community facilities.
