Watling Estate
Watling Week Float, 1944
Much of the area we now call the Watling Estate had been Goldbeaters Farm. In 1924 the London County Council decided to establish a number of housing estates in the areas around London, as part of the “Homes fit for Heroes” campaigns. The fourth largest of these areas was the Watling estate. The intention, according to the LCC, was not to clear the London area of slums, but to provide new housing. Nearly 4,000 working class dwellings were to be built in what was then a rural area. Only 14% of the final community originated from active slum clearance.
At first the plan was to use around 400 acres taken evenly from both sides of the road near to the new Burnt Oak Station. However the LCC was able to buy 387 acres of land from the purchase of Goldbeaters Farm alone. Goldbeaters had only 8 acres on the western side of the Edgware Road. Plans were drawn up by George Forrest (the London County Council’s chief Architect) and 45.8 acres were put aside for use as allotments and parks, 16 for schools and other public buildings, and the rest was for housing. Construction work began early in 1926, with most of the houses to made of brick, 464 were timber houses, and 252 were “Athol steel” houses (houses made with steel plates). Rents ranged from 12s. 8d. to 21s 9d and there was provision of two roomed flats to five room houses. The first family was able to move in in April 1927, and in under a year a further 2,100 families made their home on the estate. Many of the old trees from Goldbeaters Farm were retained, but in June 1929 the land put aside for Watling Park was cleared of building materials. Watling Park opened in 1931.
Life on the new estate was not easy. The weekly cost of commuting into London was 6 shillings, a substantial sum for working people, there was little in the way of infrastructure, few of the roads were made up, and most of the shops were in Mill Hill and Edgware. Until 1932 the estate was one large building site. Even the first Doctor had to live in a caravan until his house was ready. Some of the residents in the surrounding areas, referred to in the local press as the "snobocracy", of Mill Hill and Edgware did not want a working class district in the neighbourhood, and the new community was at first not made welcome. Many of the new residents were from the St Pancras area of London where there were plenty of shops and other services. Many could not keep up with the expense and were evicted for not paying their rent. Between 1927 and 1937 3,900 families left the new estate.
In order to counter the isolation and other issues, such as under representation, a number of residents formed the Watling Association in December 1927. A new community centre was opened by the then Prince of Wales , in January 1933. The centre was organised by the Watling Association (which represented the residents of the estate). The object was to provide a centre for the 20,000 or so residents, and was paid for with money provided by The Pilgrim Trust (£3,850) and the Association itself. In 1932 the Watling Association started the first Watling Weeks, to raise money, by which time there were over 275 members. But matters began to settle down by 1933 when there were 3,805 separate buildings with 4,021 “separate lettings”. In 1980 the estate was taken over by the London Borough of Barnet.
Pictures, Maps, Directories and Films
Other Edgware Pocket Histories
- Edgware High Street Eastern side
- Edgware High Street Western side
- Edgware Station Road
- Edgwarebury and Broadfields
- Stonegrove
- The Hale
- Brockley Hill
- Burnt Oak
- Orange Hill and Goldbeaters Farm
Email this pageLast modified by: Robin Yeates on 07/06/2007