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Photo by: Nathaniel Télémaque
Join Open City for a walking tour investigating the history of 20th-century public housing in west London, exploring a remarkable range of homes between East Acton and White City
From cottage estates shaped by the garden city movement, to Peabody flats channeling Hampton Court, to a hexagonal modernist block inspired by the Giant’s Causeway, this walk — led by local resident and Golden Key Academy graduate Joanna Oyediran — traces how social housing developed in London over the 20th century and set influential standards for the rest of the UK.
The story begins on the Old Oak Estate, where the London County Council (LCC) applied garden city ideas to build picturesque cottages for working-class Londoners before and after the First World War.
Next the tour travels through the Wormholt Estate, initiated by Hammersmith Borough Council as part of Prime Minister Lloyd George’s ‘homes for heroes’ programme after the First World War and eventually completed by the London County Council.
Moving into the 1920s and 1930s, the tour will explore the Peabody Trust’s Cleverly Estate and the LCC’s White City Estate, whose high-quality, self-contained flats offered tenants new levels of comfort.
A system-built modernist block, its hexagonal design inspired by the Giant’s Causeway, brings the tour into the 1960s. The final stop brings the tour into the 1970s with the low-rise Wood Lane Estate, designed by groundbreaking architects Darbourne & Darke.
The broad and varied range of architectural styles and layouts along the route reflect challenges that still face social housing provision in London today. We will look at how successive generations balanced the roles of the public and private sectors while trying to deliver good-quality, affordable homes for the many people who rely on them.
Key information
Meet: Outside East Acton Station, Erconwald Street W12 0BP (the 2nd stop on tour is outside Peabody Housing Office, 43 Erconwald Street)
what3words location: ///social.wrong.intelligible
End: White City underground station W12 7RH
Distance: 3 miles approx
Duration: 2.15 hrs approx
Route notes: The walk is step free. There is only place to sit down on the walk in Wormholt Park. Toilets are available just over half way through the walk. If you arrive early to the meeting point there is a cafe a few doors down Pizzeria Cafe 59.
Cost: £29.50 / £19.50 / £13.50 / £9.50
Tickets are non refundable and our tours go ahead rain or shine…
We aim to be inclusive and accessible where possible, please contact Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk to discuss your needs, reduced ticket prices and if you require a free carer ticket or have any additional queries.
MEET THE TOUR GUIDE
Raised in Kent, Joanna Oyediran has lived in London, Jerusalem, Cairo, and New York. She has a strong interest in how the built environment of the world’s great cities continuously changes and adapts. Shepherd’s Bush has been her home for the last twelve years.
Joanna is a graduate of the 2022 Golden Key Academy. — a masterclass for urban and architectural tour guiding run by Open City. She joined the Open City tours team in December 2022.
Open City's year-round tours programme is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.