Explore the
architecture of
Thamesmead:
London’s
New Town
Join Open City for a walking tour revealing the unique architectural vision of Thamesmead through film
This fun and engaging walking tour — led by Golden Key Academy graduate and architect Áine Grace — uses archive film to demonstrate the futuristic ideas and shifting identities at the heart of Thamesmead, an architecturally bold New Town built on former marshland by the Greater London Council between 1964 and 1986.
Envisioned as a new town on the south eastern edges of London, Thamesmead offered a leap forward into what was seen as futuristic 21st century-style living to both residents and visitors alike. Among its most famous visitors was director Stanley Kubrick, who filmed iconic scenes from his cult classic film A Clockwork Orange on the newly built estate in 1970.
Since Kubrick, Thamesmead has continued to attract filmmakers, providing a compelling backdrop for urban storytelling.
With the estate now undergoing large scale regeneration including building 20,000 new homes, community and cultural facilities in a vision to realise Thamesmead’s potential as London’s new town, this walking tour revisits its original design intentions and by focusing on film offers a unique re-reading of its landscape to reveal its multiple identities and its enduring humanity.
Providing a fun way for enthusiastic urbanists to explore the city, this tour will explore the past, present and future of Thamesmead as one of London’s most culturally diverse and iconic neighbourhoods with an Elizabeth Line station connecting it to the centre.
The entertaining and insightful route will visit the ancient ruins of Lesnes Abbey before heading north into the 1960s and 1970s Parkview and Southmere neighbourhoods where new landscaping has transformed public spaces and set the stage for a civic centre featuring a new library by the acclaimed architects Bisset Adams.
Key information:
Meet: Abbey Arms Pub (next to Abbey Wood Station) 31 Wilton Road, Abbey Wood SE2 9RH
End: at Cygnet Square, SE2 9FA
Duration: 2.5 hrs approx
Access: Moderately hilly in places and we will also be walking up steps at a few points in the tour to access the first floor pedestrian walkways and cross roads
Distance: 4.5km
Cost: £5.00, ticket cost supported by Peabody
Tickets are non refundable and go ahead rain or shine… Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
This tour is published as a Pocket London. You can purchase the printed guide from the Open City Shop as part of the Pocket London: The Golden Era of Social Housing pack.
Meet the tour guide…
Áine Grace is originally from Belfast where she studied architecture at Queens University. Her work has a strong focus on urbanism and film. She is particularly interested in analysing our ever evolving attitudes to cities and how we inhabit the built environment. After moving to London almost seven years ago, she has worked on a number of large scale residential and masterplan projects and continues to weave film into architectural practice, completing a short film recently about getting lost in London.
Grace is a graduate of the 2021 Golden Key Academy — a masterclass for urban and architectural tour guiding run by Open City. She joined the Open City tours team in November 2021.