Watling Estate

Estate in/near Burnt Oak, existing between 1924 and now

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(51.606 -0.27, 51.606 -0.27) 
MAP YEAR:18001810182018301860190019502024 
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Estate · * · HA8 ·
APRIL
18
2017
The extension of the Northern Line to Edgware in 1924 caused the London County Council to purchase 387 acres of farmland adjacent to the new Burnt Oak station.

In 1890, Parliament passed the Housing of the Working Classes Act, which paved the way for a government programme of slum clearance and replacement housing.

After the First World War, the government promised "Homes for Heroes" to returning soldiers in need of housing and employment. This led to an expansion of the house-building programme, with the provision of working-class housing becoming a statutory duty of local authorities in 1919.

The design manual accompanying the bill emphasized the need for "good houses" for the working man’s family, with designs influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and early Garden City planning. The London County Council built several large housing estates based on these ideas, including the Watling Estate, designed by architect George Forrest.

The first residents moved into the estate by April 1927, and within a year, 2100 families were iving there. By 1930, all 4000 dwellings were completed. Despite careful planning of the houses and street layouts, the estate was not intended to be a self-contained community, and tenants moved in before any schools, roads, churches, shops or community facilities were provided. Children had to travel by train to schools in Golders Green and Hendon, while many people commuted to their previous jobs on the Underground. The estate was designed as a garden suburb and was not meant to be isolated from the rest of London. Although many local facilities were eventually provided, the estate was not self-sufficient.

Although the houses were larger and better equipped than the tenements they replaced, early residents found the estate isolating and complained about the lack of facilities and the high cost of living. The allocation policy also prevented local people and estate residents from getting their own homes, leading to overcrowding in some households.

One 1928 reminiscence of the early years explains: “there was nothing but bricks and mortar and acres of mud. The main thoroughfares ...were narrow lanes – little more than footpaths and cart tracks in part. The first doctor had to live in a caravan until his house was ready.”

The estate eventually became the responsibility of the London Borough of Barnet in 1980, and tenants were able to buy their council houses through "Right to Buy" policies in the 1980s.




Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence


NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Watling Estate The extension of the Northern Line to Edgware in 1924 caused the London County Council to purchase 387 acres of farmland adjacent to the new Burnt Oak station.

NEARBY STREETS
Albany Crescent, HA8 Albany Crescent is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Albany House, HA8 Albany House is a block on Albany Crescent (Edgware)
Aquarius Court, HA8 Aquarius Court is located on Zodiac Close (Edgware)
Axholme Avenue, HA8 Axholme Avenue is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Bacon Lane, HA8 Bacon Lane is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Barnfield Road, HA8 Barnfield Road was the location of the Watling Estate market (Burnt Oak)
Bernhart Close, HA8 Bernhart Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Berridge Green, HA8 Berridge Green is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Blessbury Road, HA8 Blessbury Road leads off Orange Hill Road (Burnt Oak)
Boston Road, HA8 Boston Road is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Brackley Walk, HA8 Brackley Walk is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Brearley Close, HA8 Brearley Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Briar Walk, HA8 Briar Walk is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Broomgrove Gardens, HA8 Broomgrove Gardens is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Burnt Oak Broadway, HA8 Burnt Oak Broadway lies along the route of the pre-Roman part of Watling Street, which crossed the Thames around Lambeth and by Roman times ran on to St Albans. (Edgware)
Burnt Oak Fields, HA8 Burnt Oak Fields is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Cameron Crescent, HA8 Cameron Crescent is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Canada Park Parade, HA8 Canada Park Parade is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Colchester Road, HA8 Colchester Road is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Columbia Avenue, HA8 Columbia Avenue is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Compton Close, HA8 Compton Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Cooms Walk, HA8 A street within the HA8 postcode (Burnt Oak)
Copinger Walk, HA8 A street within the HA8 postcode (Burnt Oak)
Deansbrook Road, HA8 Deansbrook Road is a local secondary centre of shopping for the Watling Estate (Burnt Oak)
East Road, HA8 East Road dates from the mid-nineteenth century (Burnt Oak)
Elmer Gardens, HA8 Elmer Gardens is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Fairfield Avenue, HA8 Fairfield Avenue is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Fairfield Crescent, HA8 Fairfield Crescent was built as part of the rapid 1920s suburbanisation of Edgware (Edgware)
Fell Walk, HA8 Fell Walk is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Fortune Avenue, HA8 Fortune Avenue is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Futura Apartments, HA8 Futura Apartments is a block on High Street (Edgware)
Garratt Road, HA8 Garratt Road is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Grace Close, HA8 Grace Close is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Greencourt Avenue, HA8 Greencourt Avenue is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Grosvenor House, HA8 Grosvenor House is a location in London (Edgware)
Heming Road, HA8 Heming Road was built as part of the rapid 1920s suburbanisation of Edgware (Edgware)
Hutton Row, HA8 Hutton Row is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Kennedy Court, HA8 Kennedy Court is a building on Albany Crescent (Edgware)
Kirton Walk, HA8 A street within the HA8 postcode (Burnt Oak)
Langham Gardens, HA8 Langham Gardens is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Langham Road, HA8 Langham Road is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Littlefield Road, HA8 Littlefield Road is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Lynford Close, HA8 Lynford Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Merrivale Mews, HA8 A street within the HA8 postcode (Burnt Oak)
Newton Walk, HA8 Newton Walk is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
North Road, HA8 North Road was built in 1863 to serve the Redhill Workhouse (Burnt Oak)
Northolme Gardens, HA8 Northolme Gardens is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Norwich Walk, HA8 Norwich Walk is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Nurse Close, HA8 Nurse Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Orange Hill Road, HA8 Orange Hill Road is named after a house which was built around 1818 and which stood on Abbots Road. (Burnt Oak)
Oval Court, HA8 Oval Court is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Ovalley Court, HA8 Ovalley Court is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Pavilion Way, HA8 Pavilion Way is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Penylan Place, HA8 Penylan Place is a location in London (Edgware)
Pisces Court, HA8 Pisces Court is a block on Zodiac Close (Edgware)
Roscoff Close, HA8 Roscoff Close is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Burnt Oak)
Ruddock Close, HA8 A street within the HA8 postcode (Burnt Oak)
Selwyn Court, HA8 Selwyn Court is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Silkstream Parade, HA8 Silkstream Parade is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Burnt Oak)
South Road, HA8 South Road originally dates from the 1860s (Burnt Oak)
Spring Villa Park, HA8 Spring Villa Park is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Summit Close, HA8 Summit Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Edgware)
Symphony Close, HA8 Symphony Close is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
The Chase, HA8 The Chase is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
The Croft, HA8 The Croft is a road in the HA8 postcode area (Burnt Oak)
Trueman Close, HA8 Trueman Close is a location in London (Burnt Oak)
Vancouver Mansions, HA8 Vancouver Mansions is a location in London (Edgware)
Vancouver Road, HA8 Vancouver Road is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)
Wenlock Road, HA8 Wenlock Road is one of the streets in the Harrow postal district of Middlesex (Edgware)


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