INTRODUCTION
Petticoat Lane, located in the East End of London, has a rich housing history shaped by waves of migration and urban development. Originally known as Hog Lane in the Tudor period, the area transitioned from rural to urban as London expanded.
By the early 17th century, it became known as Petticoat Lane, reflecting its association with the clothing trade. ​ Overcrowding and poor housing were serious problems in the area by the nineteenth century, with people living in terrible conditions.
NEW ARRIVALS NEEDING HOMES
In the late 17th century French Protestant refugees - known as Huguenots - fled to London to escape persecution at home. Many settled in the Spitalfields area - then in the process of being urbanised – and developed a highly valuable silk -weaving industry. Soon courts and streets at the north end of Petticoat Lane and further east in Spitalfields were built to accommodate the new arrivals and their trade.
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By the early 18th century, large, ornate houses were being built with the wealth generated by the silk-weaving industry and other commerce. Examples can still be seen in Fournier Street, including number 27 – among the largest houses in the street – that was constructed by locally based speculating builders. The first occupant was the Huguenot master weaver Pierre Bourdon, whose initials can still be seen on the house’s lead rainwater head, along with the date 1725.
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The homes and workshops built for Huguenot master weavers and leading London tradesmen did much to secure the area’s reputation, during the first half of the eighteenth century, as a successful centre of trade, particularly for textile production. But by the 1760s the silk industry started to decline. New technologies meant fewer weavers were required and workshops could be relocated out of London. There were riots that saw journeymen-weavers – facing unemployment and destitution - attack the homes of master weavers that they perceived as greedy and exploitative.
OVERCROWDING
During the late 19th century Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution by Tsarist authorities in Russia and eastern Europe arrived in Spitalfields, Whitechapel and areas around Petticoat Lane. Vast waves of migration to the Petticoat Lane area from across the globe meant that the area was becoming more diverse and vibrant, however, it raised serous housing issues in an area that was already densely populated and with poor access to sufficient housing.
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There were growing concerns - particularly during the 1870s and 1880s - about the extreme poverty and poor living conditions in the area, predominantly within the Jewish community that had newly arrived in the area. The Jewish Chronicle reported that 1,747 houses in Whitechapel were recorded as having unsanitary conditions. This was largely due to poor application of public health laws in the area and unregulated sanitary provision.
SAMUEL AND HENRIETTA BARNETT - HOUSING REFORM
Pioneering social reformers Samuel and Henrietta Barnett founded the East End Dwelling Company. The company aimed to provide housing for dock workers struggling to find homes because of their irregular employment. Their first building opened in 1885. From 1873, the Barnetts had lobbied to improve housing standards. In 1890, Parliament responded by passing the Housing of the Working Classes Act. This forced local authorities to redevelop unfit houses and made it illegal for landlords to continue renting properties deemed unhygienic.
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In 1884, the Barnetts established Toynbee Hall to tackle the problems of poverty and lack of education in the local community. In 1899, Toynbee Hall established the East London Tenants’ Protection Committee, offering advice and representation to members of the local community. Its purpose was to provide access to safe and adequate housing for all.
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In 1886 Wentworth Dwellings were constructed (located at 74 Wentworth Street today) by the Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company in response to the poor living conditions of the Jewish communities in the area. The Dwellings accommodated 186 families. This was not a charitable housing exercise but was philanthropic in the sense that, although undertaken for profit, its funders accepted that profits were at a reduced scale -only 4 per cent -allowing more money to be ploughed into construction and to help keep rents relatively low.
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In 1885, the Artisan Dwellings were constructed on Petticoat Square, in response to the problems represented by the area’s slums, The Dwellings took the form five blocks of tenement or mansion style flats.
We didn't have any indoor water until probably about 1962, so I was coming up to 18 [years old] before we actually had a sink in our kitchen.
June
Listen to June talking about the house she used to live in
THE MIDDLESEX STREET ESTATE
In the 1960s there was a chronic shortage of housing in East London, and much of what was available was in appalling condition. The Toynbee Housing Association, an independent company, was established in 1966 to tackle these problems, and exists to this day.
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In 1965 Artisan Dwellings were demolished and replaced by the Middlesex Street Estate. This was constructed by the landowners – the Corporation of the City of London - and introduced modern housing on a large scale to Petticoat Lane.
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Completed between 1965 and 1970, the estate features Petticoat Tower, a 23-story residential building, alongside low-rise structures around Petticoat Square. Constructed with concrete and engineering brick, the estate comprises 146 low-rise dwellings and 88 apartments in the tower in a Brutalist style. The erection of the estate reflects the need for practical accommodation for London's growing population in the post-war period, which was tackled by building "streets in the sky" to house more people in a building than ever before. The Middlesex Street Estate is currently the largest estate of public housing constructed by the City Corporation.
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Throughout its history, Petticoat Lane's housing has mirrored the cultural and economic shifts of London's East End, evolving from rural cottages to a diverse urban landscape shaped by its waves of diverse inhabitants.
Listen to Martin reflecting on housing in the Petticoat Lane area and wider borough of Tower Hamlets
Researched and written by Mark
With thanks to Toynbee Hall for additional information