Open House Festival

Vanbrugh Park Estate

housing

Chamberlin Powell and Bon, 1963

21 Vanbrugh Park Road, Vanbrugh Park Estate, SE3 7NH

Vanbrugh Park Estate was designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The estate shares many stylistic similarities with their wider work such as the semi-circular curved motifs, purposeful use of light, and approach to community living.

Getting there

Tube

Cutty Sark

Train

Maze Hill, Westcombe Park, Blackheath, Greenwich

Bus

386, 108, 53, 54

Additional travel info

Vanbrugh Park Estate is north of Blackheath. A walk from Cutty Sark DLR station will take you through the spectacular Greenwich Park.

Access

Facilities

About

General Information

Vanbrugh Park Estate is set on seven acres with a mixture of dwelling types: an eight-storey tower block containing 64 flats, low-rise terraced houses, and maisonettes arranged over garages.

Residents are a mixture of owners and tenants, bringing a diverse group of people together. Some of the first ever residents and their descendants still live here, a testament to the positive community – something that was originally intended by the architects.

History of the area

Suffragette Emily Davison was born at Roxburgh House, 13 Vanbrugh Park Road West in 1872, where the estate now sits. Emily was known as one of the most passionate fighters of her cause for a woman’s right to vote.

Like many parts of London, the area was bombed in the Second World War. The Borough of Greenwich commissioned the scheme to build Vanbrugh Park Estate in the late fifties, requesting a mixture of dwellings, and one of two sketches proposed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon came to fruition. Simple, but functional materials were used to save on costs, like the breeze-block exterior; this was so that more could be spent on the communal areas such as landscaping. Careful consideration was taken by the architects to respect the surrounding areas, including the blind-wall terraces facing the Heath; it was meant to reflect Greenwich Park’s own wall using similar brickwork.

Online presence

vanbrughparkestate.com

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