Peabody has provided low rent homes to ‘the poor and needy’ of London since 1862, focusing on health. Decried as ‘barracks’ when first constructed, many of Peabody’s robust Victorian blocks are now in conservation areas and much loved features of the capital’s fabric.

The London County Council built some of the earliest ‘council housing’, replacing notorious east end rookeries. This estate was hailed as setting ‘new aesthetic standards for housing the working classes’; it included a laundry, shops, and workshops and a bandstand – still there!

In the suburbs, the London County Council fully embraced the ‘Garden City’ principles of Ebenezer Howard. At this estate, the Arts and Crafts vernacular includes steep pitched roofs, chimneys, bays, recessed porches and shared gardens; privacy is achieved using large swathes of privet hedge.

Octavia Hill was asked by the Church Commissioners to guide the layout of new homes in Walworth, and also to manage them. Street trees and porches give this close packed area a garden city feel. A high density is achieved with walk-up low rise flats and tight block depths.

Various public bodies erected 150,000 ‘prefabs’ after the war, to house people whose homes were destroyed by bombing. Various manufacturers were used, and the price was c. £1,000 each. These ‘temporary’ homes were planned to last 10 years: some have reached 70.

These Swindon homes now form a Conservation Area. Built by GWR for its burgeoning workforce, high density terraces nestle between formative library and health facilities, pubs and churches. Hedges and generous windows offer a an attractive and verdant street frontage.