Gazetteer of Housing Developments
Ambassador Square
This consists of 31 dwellings on the site of George W.
Mancell's steel yard, at the north-eastern end of Cahir
Street. It is a mixture of one- and two-bedroom flats
and three-bedroom houses (fig. 263), arranged around a
central, enclosed courtyard, developed and constructed
by Laing Homes in 1988 using its own standard housingtypes. (ref. 182)
The Anchorage
This development, to the west of Westferry Road, stands
on the southern part of Sufferance Wharf, where Beechams had a soft-drinks depot. It was developed by Rosehaugh Copartnership Developments, the architects were
Michael Squire Associates, and the main contractor was
Costain Management Design of Maidenhead. One tenstorey and two four-storey blocks, completed in 1990,
provide 120 apartments, nine terraced houses, a leisure
centre, and four commercial units. (ref. 183)
Burrell's Wharf
See page 478.
Caledonian Wharf
This housing scheme stands on a riverside site east of
Saunders Ness Road, and includes Caledonian Wharf
Road and Storers Way. The four-acre site was developed
and built by Thomas Bates & Son of Coventry and
Romford in 1984–7, with a scheme designed by Alan
Turner & Associates. There are 100 houses and flats; the
flats are arranged along the riverside in a continuous
series of blocks, varying from two to five storeys; the
houses range from two to four storeys, and are mainly
arranged in a loose courtyard-fashion. The old dry dock
on the site was transformed into an ornamental lake. (ref. 184)
Cascades
The tall apartment block, known as Cascades, which
overlooks the river, off Westferry Road, is already a
distinctive local landmark (Plates 154a , 155b). After
Canary Wharf it is the best-known building on the Isle
of Dogs, not least because it was criticized by the Prince
of Wales and appears on the cover of his book, A Vision
of Britain (1989). The northern part of Sufferance Wharf,
on which Cascades is situated, was purchased, with
planning permission for three- and four-storey houses,
in 1985 by Kentish Homes. However, the architects,
Campbell, Zogolovitch, Wilkinson & Gough, who had
already designed a number of low-rise housing schemes
for Kentish Homes, looked at other waterside developments in such cities as Sydney and San Francisco, and
decided that this site demanded a tall building. The
developer and the LDDC were therefore persuaded to
accept a 20-storey block of apartments designed by one
of the partners, Rex Wilkinson - a return to the highrise housing which had gone out of favour in the 1960s.
Figure 265:
. Cascades apartment block, Westferry Road, ground- and eighth-floor plans. Rex Wilkinson of Campbell, Zogolovitch,Wilkinson & Gough, architects, for Kentish Homes, 1987–8Key: a Main Entrance: b Porter's Office: c Reception Desk: d Foyer: e Quiet Sitting Area: f Cleaners' Store:g Conference Room: h Spa: i Swimming Pool: j Refuse Chute: k Roof Terrace: I Conservatory
Construction was by J. A. Elliott (the contract being
provisionally costed at £14.8 million), using fast-track
methods. The first occupant had moved in by February
1988, and the scheme was completed in August 1988,
only a little over the 18 months originally demanded.
The main block is clad with brick, principally buff and
blue, although some yellow stocks are also used. It
contains 164 one- to three-bedroom flats on either side
of central corridors. The building gradually reduces in
size as it gets higher and the side walls are concertinashaped on plan (fig. 265). All this is designed to give
each flat the best orientation. The south-facing slope of
the building provides a 'cascade' of sun terraces and
alternating greenhouses for the penthouses, and also
incorporates the fire escape under a steel-and-glass
canopy. The style is deliberately nautical (as in the same
architects' New Concordia Wharf, Bermondsey), with
portholes, railings and 'bird's nest' balconies, all intended
to convey the streamlined qualities of an ocean liner. The
block also has a leisure centre, with swimming pool and
gymnasium. A lower block of three and four storeys is
set at right angles to the main block and contains four
shops, with apartments above. (ref. 185)
Clippers Quay
This comprises 258 flats and houses built around the
former graving dock, at the south-east corner of the
Millwall Docks, on land owned by the PLA, which
shared in the development profits (Plate 158b). The
scheme, which won design awards, was drawn up by
Robert Martin Associates, and was developed and built
by Roger Malcolm Ltd in 1984–8, at an estimated cost
of £11 million. Access off Spindrift Avenue to Clippers
Quay is provided by Undine Road and Whiteadder Way,
and the development also includes Falcon Way. (ref. 186)
Compass Point
The Compass Point development, straddling the northern
end of Saunders Ness Road, comprises Blyth Close,
Chichester Way, Mariners Mews (fig. 266), Sextant
Avenue, and Francis Close, and stands on the site of
Dudgeon's Wharf. It was developed and constructed by
Costain Homes in 1985–8, using a scheme initially drawn
up by Jeremy Dixon of Jeremy Dixon-Building Design
Partnership. Dixon's aim, both in the overall layout and
the design of the individual groups of buildings at
Compass Point, was to re-create the urban pattern of
Georgian London 'in which formality and axiality are
tempered by asymmetry and modesty of elevation'. The
intention was to design in the Classical spirit, rather than
simply to produce a neo-Georgian pastiche. There are
150 flats and houses in a variety of blocks, faced in darkred brick and smooth white render, with pitched slate
roofs. Several blocks are re-workings of previous schemes
by Dixon, such as the three-storey villas in Sextant
Avenue (based on his Lanark Road housing at Maida
Vale), the Dutch-style riverside terrace with stepped
gables (derived from his St Mark's Road housing,
Kensington), and the terraces with tall triangular windows
in Chichester Way (adapted from his Ashmill Street
scheme, Paddington) (Plates 142a,142c , 155a). Sextant
Avenue also provides the main axial vista, with - at one
end - a small terraced, somewhat Regency-style crescent
(Plate 142b) and - at the other end - a view of silos
across the river, framed and echoed by two tall riverside
blocks of flats with full-height cylindrical towers. Beyond
the buildings there is a riverside walk, complete with
pergolas. (ref. 187)
Figure 266:
Mariners Mews, Compass Point, plans of a typical four/five-bedroom house. Jeremy Dixon, design architect, Costain Homes, developers, 1985–8
Cumberland Mills
Standing on the south-east side of Saunders Ness Road,
Cumberland Mills was developed and built by Thomas
Bates & Son in two phases, completed in 1988 and 1990,
and designed by a former GLC architect, Donald Ball of
Alan Turner & Associates. It consists of 88 dwellings
provided in cluster-blocks, rising to ten storeys, with a
complex spiral of one- to three-bedroom flats and terracegardens, and is based on the GLC's award-winning
Odhams housing in Covent Garden, for which Ball was
also responsible (Plate 143b; fig. 267). (ref. 188)
Figure 267:
Cumberland Mills, south-west apartment block, second-floor plan. Donald Ball, architect, Thomas Bates & Son, developers, 1987–8
Cyclops Wharf
This is a housing development to the west of Westferry
Road on the riverside site of the Le Bas Tubes foundry.
'Cyclops' was the existing name of the site, alluding to
the race of giants in Classical mythology (see page 456).
The development was a joint venture between Abbey
National Homes and Fairclough Homes. It was designed
by the Mason Richards Partnership of Dudley, Worcestershire, and the main contractors were Fairclough Building
Ltd. The first block was finished at the beginning of
1989, and the whole scheme was completed in 1990.
There are 200 dwellings, comprising studio and one- to
three-bedroom apartments, and three- and four-bedroom
houses, in blocks varying between four and eleven storeys.
The scheme also includes a swimming pool, sauna, and
gymnasium for residents, a ground-floor car park set
below the riverside block, and a double shop-unit on the
corner of Westferry Road. (ref. 189)
De Bruin Court, Nos 17–31 (odd) Ferry Street
This is a small development by Moram Homes Ltd, and
the scheme was completed in 1988. No. 17 is a four-storey
block with seven flats, Nos 19–29 are five three-storey and
one four-storey (No. 29) terraced houses (Plate 144a), and
No. 31 is a three-storey detached house. Stylistically they
are a mixture of metropolitan Georgian and seaside
Regency, with a touch of 'Docklands nautical'. (ref. 190)
Felstead Gardens
Standing off Ferry Street and on the site of Felsted [sic]
Wharf, this is a small housing scheme of 28 flats and 10
town houses, in three- and four-storey blocks, developed
and built in 1983–5 by Wates Built Homes, and designed
by Wigley Fox. This scheme received a Department of
the Environment Housing Design Award in 1985. (ref. 191)
Friars Mead
Friars Mead (except for Nos 105 and 107, see under
Glengall Self-Build), at the north-east corner of the
Mudchute, was built as a result of a limited design
competition organized by the LDDC and won by Comben
Homes Ltd (subsequently part of the Trafalgar House
Group's Ideal Homes company), with a scheme designed
by Ronald Quinn Associates. Work began on site in 1983,
but, because of problems with the toxicity of the soil and
the low-lying nature of the land (involving special drainage work), the scheme was not completed until 1986.
This development consists of 24 one-bedroom flats,
and 48 two- and three-bedroom houses. Taking its lead
from the Development Corporation's brief, which men
tioned 'quad' housing, a number of dwellings at the
centre of the scheme are built in such blocks. Each
contains four dwellings and has a slightly Japanesepagoda appearance. (ref. 192)
Figure 268.:
Lockes Field, plans of a typical four-bedroom house. Groveside Homes, designers and developers, 1988–9
Glengall Bridge
See below, under commercial developments.
Glengall Place
This housing scheme consists of Nos 20–74 (even) Tiller
Road (on the south side), plus Claire Place. The 79
traditional one- to three-bedroom, two-storey houses
were jointly developed by Barratt (East London) and the
Boleyn and Forest Housing Society for shared-ownership
occupancy, and were built by Barratts in 1984–5, using
its own standard house-types. (ref. 193)
Glengall Self-Build
This housing scheme consists of Nos 1–8 (consec) Isambard Close, Nos 1–6 (consec) St James Close and Nos
105 and 107 Friars Mead. The scheme, by the Glengall
Self-Build Housing Association, varies from the other
two self-build projects in the area, at Maconochie's Wharf
and Arcadia Street, in that it was initiated and organized
by a firm of professional advisers, the Essex Self-Build
Advisory Service, based at Pitsea. The firm arranged the
purchase of the 1.1-acre site from the LDDC (which
provided the infrastructure), obtained 100-per-cent
funding from the Housing Corporation, commissioned
Saunders and Huggins of Grays, Essex, to draw up plans
(project architect Roy Bromage), sought people to form
an association and provided the constitution for it,
arranged the purchase of materials, and co-ordinated
and supervised work on site. The 16 members of the
association, who were all local people, carried out the
work themselves, doing about 26 hours a week. The
project started in September 1985, the houses were
completed by the summer of 1987, and were handed over
to individual members in December of that year. For an
outlay of £32,500 each member obtained a three-bedroom
house valued at between £90,000 and £110,000. The
consultants received a percentage of the development
costs, drawn from each member's contribution.
These two-storey houses are designed to blend in with
the adjacent housing in Friars Mead by Comben Homes,
and adopt a similar 'pavilion' form. The main differences
are that the self-build houses are semi-detached, rather
than in groups of four, and have square-fronted, doublestorey bay windows. (ref. 194)
Horseshoe Court
This lies between Manchester Road and Ferry Street. It
is a further development by Wates Built Homes, following
the immediate success of their nearby Felstead Gardens.
The architects were again Wigley Fox, and Wates acted
as their own main contractor, with work being carried
out in 1987–8. The name of this development is derived
from the United Horse Shoe & Nail Company which
manufactured horseshoes in Ferry Street (see page 516).
The accommodation was aimed particularly at first-time
buyers with young children. The 71 one- and twobedroom flats are mainly arranged in two-, three- and
four-storey blocks around an inner courtyard. There are
nine three-bedroom houses arranged in two two-storey
terraces facing Manchester Road (Nos 64–80, even). The
remaining flats are to the west, in a separate L-shaped
three-storey block on the corner of Ferry Street and
Manchester Road. (ref. 195)
Jamestown Harbour
This development extends round the east and south sides
of the Blackwall Basin, either side of the basin entrance,
and continues around the former West India Dock
Graving Dock. It is also planned to be extended to the
east of Preston's Road. In 1982 the PLA, which owned
most of the 6.8-acre site, invited Wates Built Homes to
develop this site and the housing scheme was designed
by Whittam, Cox, Ellis & Clayton. Construction was
carried out by Wates itself in phases: Bridge House
Quay (also including Landons Close), 1984–6; Virginia
Moorings (around Lancaster Close), completed in 1986;
Cotton's Landing (named after Joseph Cotton, the first
Chairman of the East India Dock Company, and
approached from Preston's Road via Lovegrove Walk),
1988—early 1990s. When the Cotton's Landing phase is
complete, there will be 210 dwellings on this development, providing one- to three-bedroom apartments, and
four-bedroom houses (fig. 264). A sculpture by Franta
Belsky entitled 'Leap', which consists of eight bronze
dolphins spouting water, was commissioned by Wates for
the former graving dock (Plate 144c). (ref. 196)
Lockes Field
This lies between Chapel House Street and Westferry
Road. It was developed, designed, and built in 1988–9
by Groveside Homes, a subsidiary of Tarmac. A central
'mews', approached via an archway through the gatehouses at either end, lies between two enclosed courtyards. There are 90 houses and flats in two- and threestorey blocks, faced in dark-red mottled brick and with
pitched, slated roofs (Plate 142d; fig. 268). (ref. 197)
London Yard
The site of about ten acres, on the east side of Manchester
Road, was developed by VOM (Vastgoed Ourwikkelings
Maatschappi), a Dutch-based property development
company. The original scheme was drawn up by ED,
a Dutch architectural practice, but its execution was
supervised by the London-based Building Design Partnership. Construction was carried out in phases in 1984–8
by John Laing, at a reported cost of £11.5 million.
London Yard embraces Amsterdam Road, Leerdam
Drive, Rembrandt Close and Rotterdam Drive, and consists of 295 dwellings in a wide mixture of flats, maisonettes and houses. Six- and seven-storey apartment
blocks line the riverside, while to their rear lower terraces
of two, three and four storeys are built around gardens.
At the centre of the scheme is a specially created lake,
which is not only ornamental, but also helps to drain the
site. The scheme includes a small parade of 14 shop
units, a restaurant and a public riverside walk. (ref. 198)
Luralda Gardens
This development is on the site of the Luralda timber
factory (which closed down in 1982) to the east of Island
Gardens. It is a housing scheme developed, designed,
and built in 1983–5, by Barratt (East London). There are
48 dwellings, arranged around three sides of a courtyard
garden and there is a riverside terrace. (ref. 199)
Maconochie's Wharf
This housing scheme, on the south-west side of Westferry
Road, in Maconochie's Road, Wynan Road, Pointers
Close, Rainbow Avenue and Blasker Walk, is the result
of three self-build projects, all designed by the same
architects, Stout & Litchfield (project architect Roy
Stout). (ref. 200) The scheme was largely inspired by Dr Michael
Barraclough, who had already worked with those architects on a housing scheme in Ferry Street, of which only
four houses were eventually built (see page 518), and Jill
Palios of Wapping. Both keen protagonists of self-build,
they were also anxious to see some of the new housing
going to local inhabitants. By leaflet distribution, advertising in local papers, and word of mouth, enough people
were obtained to form the Great Eastern Self-Build
Housing Association in 1985. (ref. 201) The LDDC, which
owned Maconochie's Wharf and carried out reclamation
work there, was persuaded to sell 1.4 acres of the site at
the District Valuer's price of £364,000, with infrastructure (remarkably cheap in the light of subsequent
land prices in the area), although the site had been
initially intended for light industrial purposes. (ref. 202)
Because the Great Eastern Association had 46 members
rather than the 20 recommended for such associations by
the Housing Corporation, it initially found it difficult
to raise a loan. The Abbey National Building Society
eventually provided the finance, the total cost of this part
of the scheme being estimated at £1.7 million. (ref. 203) The
Association commissioned Stout & Litchfield to design
the housing. As about a half of the members were in the
building trades, a traditional brick-construction method
could be used, rather than one more specifically designed
for self-build. The members wanted houses, and terraced
housing seemed the only way of using the site economically and without appearing to overcrowd it. The
LDDC insisted that the river frontage should be uniform,
each dwelling being of the same height, with identical
balconies, windows, and chimneys. Otherwise there are
slight variations in external features, such as the fenestration (including, in some cases, the addition of a bay
window), the provision of stained wooden balconies, and
the number of storeys, ranging from two to three-storeysand-attics (Plate 143c). The dwellings are generally gabled
but, again, for variety these are given different dispositions. Also, the internal planning was agreed after
owners had first filled in a questionnaire which indicated
the possible options available and then had a personal
interview with the architects. Thus, while each owner
had some opportunity to incorporate preferences, the
architects were able to impose an overall unity, which
restricted any wild eccentricities and prevented visual
anarchy. The use of the same building materials throughout the whole development also contributes to the overall
unity: white calcium silicate bricks (but see below), slates
on pitched roofs, and hardwood windows.
Construction of the Great Eastern project (most of the
houses on the southern half of the site) began in June
1986. (ref. 204) A certain amount of work was contracted out,
mainly the piled foundations and the roof-slating. A
member of the association was paid as a full-time site
manager, but otherwise members had to devote a
minimum of 20 hours a week of their spare time, usually
at weekends, working communally on the project, and
there were stiff fines for those who failed to turn up or
were late. (ref. 205) Curiously, women were excluded from
working on the site. The first houses were completed
towards the end of 1987, (ref. 206) and in 1988 this scheme won
a Prince of Wales's Community Enterprise Award. (ref. 207)
Sufficient interested people remained after the first
project to form the nucleus for the second scheme:
the Isle of Dogs Self-Build Housing Association. This
association, with 35 members, was able to purchase the
adjacent part of Maconochie's Wharf, to the north of the
Great Eastern scheme, from the LDDC in 1987, although
the (undisclosed) price, again fixed by the District Valuer,
was much higher than for the first scheme. (ref. 208) Work began
about the middle of that year and the actual building
work took only 19 months (six months ahead of schedule),
with the first houses occupied by February 1989. (ref. 209)
However, work was speeded up by contracting out more
of the work than on the other schemes, it being more
economic to do so because of the level of interest rates
at the time. The terraces are similar to the Great Eastern
ones, but those abutting the Burrell's Wharf site were
required by the LDDC to be faced in yellow brick instead
of white, to match the development there.
Finally, the eight houses ranged in two terraces to
either side of the Ship public house in Westferry Road
were built by the Second Isle of Dogs Self-Build Housing
Association. Planning permission was granted in August
1988 and a licence was issued to allow initial piling work
to start prior to formal purchase. In this case the LDDC
allowed the purchase of the land to be paid for in
instalments and when the houses were complete the
owners had the option of either paying the outstanding
50 per cent of the land value or entering into an equityshare arrangement with the Corporation. (ref. 210) These houses,
completed towards the end of 1990, are faced in yellow
brick. As for the naming of the streets, 'Rainbow' and
'Wynan' were ships which regularly berthed at Maconochie's Wharf, while Blasker Walk commemorates a local
doctor. (ref. 211)
In all there are 89 three-bedroom houses, which cost
less than £30,000 each to build, while the overall cost
per dwelling, including the price of the land, was less
than £50,000. (ref. 212) If members of the associations sold their
houses within five years of completion they had to pay
back a proportion of any profits. (ref. 213)
Masthouse Terrace
See page 490.
Plymouth Wharf
This housing scheme, off the east side of Saunders Ness
Road, consists of 62 dwellings. It was developed, designed
and built by Groveside Homes, and was completed early
in 1986. Three-storey terraces to either side of an inner
courtyard lead down to a pair of warehouse-style blocks
(also of three storeys) by the riverside. (ref. 214)
Quay West
Quay West lies to the east of Westferry Road, and
includes the west end of Spindrift Avenue, as well as
Barnfield Place and Ironmongers Place. It was developed,
designed, and built in 1988–9 by Wimpey Homes. There
are 89 houses and 38 flats which provide one- to fourbedroom accommodation. The three- and four-storey
blocks are arranged around two principal enclosures: 'a
paragon and a pleasance'. (ref. 215)
Timber Wharves Village
This is on a 14.4-acre site, at the western end of the
south side of the Millwall Docks, just to the east of
Westferry Road. It was designed by Barnard Urquart
Jarvis, and developed and constructed by Ideal Homes
(part of the Trafalgar House Group). The first part was
built in phases between 1987 and 1992. The scheme has
a strong urban character, with a fairly formal street layout
(Plate 144b ). A central axis, Ashdown Walk, is closed by
a large, curved six- and seven-storey block at the southern
end with a central archway (Plate 143a). The development
is intended to consist of 485 dwellings (in a wide mixture
of flats and houses, with blocks varying so far between
two and seven storeys), and to embrace also Arden
Crescent, Barnsdale Avenue, Charnwood Gardens, Copeland Drive, Dartmoor Walk, Epping Close, Inglewood
Close, Kintal Drive (renamed Dockers Tanner Road in
1990, as a reminder of the Great Dock Strike of 1889),
Radnor Walk, Rothesay Walk, Savernake Close and Sherwood Gardens. (ref. 216)
Transom Square
Transom Square, on the east side of Westferry Road,
was developed, designed and built by Laing Homes. The
three central blocks, of two and three storeys, comprising
31 one-bedroom flats and two-bedroom houses (less than
half of the 64 dwellings planned for this site) were built
between 1988 and 1990. (ref. 217)