Alton Estate
Encyclopedia
Roehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
, southwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Alton Estate, one of the largest council estates (public housing) in the UK, occupies an extensive swathe of land west of Roehampton village and runs between the Roehampton Lane through-road and Richmond Park golf courses, as can be seen on the map to the right. The estate is renowned for its mix of low and high-rise modernist architecture consisting of Alton East (1958) styled a subtle Scandinavian-influenced vernacular and its slightly later counterpart: Alton West (1959). At Highcliffe Drive on Alton West the LCC essentially retained the Georgian landscape and placed within it five ultra modern slab blocks: Binley, Winchfield, Dunbridge, Charcot and Denmead Houses, (all grade II*) inspired by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's Unite d'Habitation
Unité d'Habitation
The Unité d'Habitation is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso...
.
It comprises Alton East and the slightly later Alton West, each estate having several separate neighbourhoods. Overall, the estate has over 13,000 residents, making it one of the largest in the United Kingdom. The architecture is mainly split between brutalist architecture and its Scandinavian-inspired counterpart. The area comprising a crossroads which links Roehampton Lane, Roehampton Village and the estate is undergoing planning to be redeveloped by Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
Council. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200079/regeneration/374/roehampton_regeneration/1 Schemes include a number of Government initiatives such as SureStart thus helping to tackle issues of poverty and social exclusion.
The estate celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2009. Alton West appeared in an advert for the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
' HPV Vaccine, also in 2009.
Wandsworth Council intended to redevelop a significant part of the Alton Estate which involved the demolition of some of the structures which form the entrance to Danebury Avenue. In early 2010 the decision was withdrawn. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/apply/doc/Report-2035927.pdf?extension=.pdf&wmTransparency=0&id=2035927&wmLocation=0&location=VOLUME8&contentType=application/pdf&wmName=+&pageCount=2
Alton West
At the time of its completion in 1958, Alton West was considered by many British architects to be the crowning glory of post World War Two social housing.What made Alton West so special at the time was its response to its setting. Built on a large expanse of parkland on the edge of Richmond Park
Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...
, Alton West was a direct translation of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
s’ idea of the Ville Radieuse
Ville Radieuse
Ville Radieuse was an unrealised project designed by the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1924.Although Le Corbusier had exhibited his ideas for the ideal city, the Ville Contemporaine in the 1920s, during the early 1930s, after contact with international planners he began work on the Ville...
or park city; sets of "point" and "slab" blocks being surrounded by the beauty of Richmond Park below.
On this natural landscape at Alton West stood a number of different housing configurations; 12-storey "point" blocks with 4 flats per floor, terraces of low-rise maisonettes and cottage
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s and perhaps most famously, five 11-storey "slab" blocks, heavily influenced by the recently completed Unité d'Habitation
Unité d'Habitation
The Unité d'Habitation is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso...
by Le Corbusier.
Notable Buildings and Establishments
Roehampton has a rich history and, now, to a certain extent so does the Alton Estate itself. Within the locale of the footprint occupied by the estate there are several notable buildings and establishments- The Cornerstone - (Roehampton Parish Great Hall - also serves as a community centre providing social facilities for locals)
- The Highcliffe - (Perhaps the Alton's most famous landmarks: 5 Grade II* Listed tower buildings, developed as part of the Narrow-Fronted Maisonette concept of the 1950s inspired by Le CorbusierLe CorbusierCharles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
) - Maryfield Convent - (An order called The Poor Servants of the Mother of God)
- Mount Clare - (A smaller campus which is part of Roehampton UniversityRoehampton UniversityThe University of Roehampton is a campus university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, south-west London.-History:...
centered around an eponymous manor houseManor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
) - Parkstead HouseWhitelands CollegeWhitelands College is one of the four constituent colleges of Roehampton University. One of the oldest higher education institutions in England, predating every university except Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham, it was founded by the Church of England’s National Society in 1841 as a teacher...
- (A stately home with a long and varied history which now forms a main campus of Roehampton UniversityRoehampton UniversityThe University of Roehampton is a campus university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, south-west London.-History:...
) - Clanfield House is one of eight red brick blocks of maisonettes built during the 1950s, on the east section of the Estate. It is an example of early attempts to create urban utopian communities, particularly in the use of allotments in front of Clanfield House.
Alton Estate in populare culture
The Alton Estate has featured as a film and television location. Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 film directed by François Truffaut, in his first colour film as well as his only English-language film. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury....
(1966) used some of the estate as its backdrop for a bleak dystopian society of the future. Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
's film division Euston Films used the Danebury Avenue area of the estate to film the opening scene's of Sweeney 2
Sweeney 2
Sweeney 2 is a 1978 film that is a sequel to the 1977 film Sweeney! which was itself a spin-off from the popular British TV show The Sweeney. Some of the action was transferred from the usual London setting to Malta. Denholm Elliot appears as a corrupt ex-officer, who asks his former subordinates...
(1978) - the sequel to the film Sweeney! (1977) itself spun off from the hugely popular British TV show The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
, and the first episode of Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
, Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette (1979).
See also
- Alexandra Road estateAlexandra Road estateThe Alexandra Road estate, properly known as the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate, but more commonly, and erroneously, referred to as simply Rowley Way, is a housing estate in the London Borough of Camden, North West London, England. It was designed in 1968 by Neave Brown of Camden Council's...
, CamdenLondon Borough of CamdenIn 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
. - Brunswick CentreBrunswick CentreThe Brunswick Centre is a grade II listed residential and shopping centre in Bloomsbury, Camden, London, England, located between Brunswick Square and Russell Square....
, BloomsburyBloomsbury-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
. - ThamesmeadThamesmeadThamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....
, BexleyBexleyBexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...
and GreenwichGreenwichGreenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
. - Aylesbury EstateAylesbury EstateThe Aylesbury Estate is a large housing estate located in Walworth, South East London.Along with the Ferrier Estate, Aylesbury is considered the most notorious estate in the United Kingdom. It was for this reason that Tony Blair chose to make his first speech as Prime Minister here, in an effort to...