1966

TQ2174 : Alton West Estate, Roehampton, 1966 – 11

taken 58 years ago, near to Roehampton, Wandsworth, England

Alton West Estate, Roehampton, 1966 – 11
Alton West Estate, Roehampton, 1966 – 11
This is a series of views taken in 1966 as part of a student study tour when I was studying for an architecture degree, when we visited a number of GLC housing estates that were seen to be leaders in the planning of municipal housing to replace outdated Victorian era housing.

The article in Wikipedia describes Alton West as follows:

“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 II social housing.[4]

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, Alton West was a direct translation of Le Corbusier's idea of the Ville Radieuse 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 four flats per floor; terraces of low-rise maisonettes and cottages; and, perhaps most famously, five 11-storey "slab" blocks, heavily influenced by the Unitι d'Habitation by Le Corbusier, completed in 1952.”

The five slab blocks are Listed Grade II*

Views are:
1 – Tower blocks, Tangley Grove
2 – Binley House
3 – View from Tangley Grove towards the Sherfield Gardens maisonettes
4 - Tower blocks, Tangley Grove
5 – Mount Clare. Mansion built c.1772, Listed Grade I. Now part of Roehampton University. One of several mansions whose grounds formed the basis of the open spaces of the development.
6 – Durbridge House and Denmead House seen from near Mount Clare
7 – Corner of Bramley House and Sherfield Gardens maisonettes.
8 – Allerford House with Alton Primary School beyond.
9 – View from Lyndhurst House.
10 – Terraced housing along Danebury Avenue.
11 – View west from Finchdean House.
12 - View from Finchdean House with part of the now demolished Danebury School.
13 – Slab blocks looking west from Binley House.
14 – Tunworth Crescent blocks from Binley House.
15 – Maisonettes along Danebury Avenue.
16 – Roehampton Library, tucked in under Allbrook House.
17 – Roehampton Library, tucked in under Allbrook House.

See other images of Alton West Estate 1966

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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TQ2174, 177 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Alan Murray-Rust   (more nearby)
Date Taken
25 April 1966   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 21 March, 2020
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 2179 7405 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:27.1406N 0:14.9179W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 2187 7396
View Direction
Northwest (about 315 degrees)
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Image Type (about): cross grid 
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