Woodberry Down, Hackney
A very large housing estate situated just east of Manor House, comprising the area within a loop of the New River
The corner of a block of flats on the Woodberry Down estate
This was dairy farmland until the 1820s, when it was opened up by new roads and the conversion of disused clay pits into reservoirs alleviated the threat of flooding. By the early 20th century it had become ‘the posh end of Stoke Newington’, home to several wealthy Jewish families and to Albert Chevalier, the music hall artiste.
In 1934, despite powerful opposition, the London County Council compulsorily purchased all of Woodberry Down and the construction of an ‘estate of the future’ began after the Second World War. By the time the project was completed in 1962, 57 blocks of flats had been erected on 64 acres of land. The 2,500 homes had a mix of deck access and lobby access, with the majority being two- or three-bedroom flats. Woodberry Down School, now closed, became one of Britain’s first purpose-built comprehensives in 1955.
As with some other utopian schemes of a similar nature, Woodberry Down became a flawed place in which to live, with an array of characteristic inner-city issues and flats that had structural problems, water penetration and few amenities. An ongoing regeneration plan is providing new and refurbished housing and aiming to improve the ‘life chances’ of residents. The plan won one of the three first prizes in an architectural design competition.
