Documenting the history of the Waterlow Estate in Bethnal Green, East London. Comprising Wilmot, Corfield, Ainsley and Finnis Street the Waterlow Estate was built by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company starting in 1869.
Having a (very) niche obsession such as the Waterlow Estate means months of trawling the internet finding very little and then once in a while hitting the jackpot. It was in this vein that I recently happened across The Streets of Waterlow Estate and Bethnal Green Facebook group. I’m not sure why I’d never tried searching Facebook before but this group has proved to be a treasure trove of memories and photographs of the Estate.
A particular highlight was a link to a clip from Thames News in 1982 detailing the state of disrepair the buildings had fallen into by this time. You can see the clip here.
A fantastic news report from Thames TV in 1982. It seems that the buildings were starting to become dangerous in the early 1980s and scaffolding was erected to protect the residents from falling masonry !
A few months ago I received message from a gentleman named Bernard. He outlined his long relationship with the estate which went all the way back to his birth on Finnis St (No 21) …
“..In 1928 , and in time went to Wilmot St. school. We then moved to Wilmot St.(No22) and I went to Stuart Headlam school, through the arch across Three Colts Lane,on the right hand side, opposite Barnsley St. From there I was evacuated to Suffolk until after the bombing stopped. That’s another story. After the war my wife and I lived in No.327 Corfield St. for a time”
He also responded to my post about a photograph I’d found of Wilmot St before or during WW2. His Message:
“A bomb did fall in Wilmot Street and although I was evacuated at the time, my mother told me about it.The bomb landed in the backyard and went under my parents bedroom at number 22. Fortunately, it didn’t explode. After this everybody had to leave. After a few days and before the Bomb Disposable people arrived my mother went back in she said ”to get the insurance books”. The air raid warden saw her and she got a severe ticking off ”Don’t you know that walking on that floor could have set that bomb off”
I dropped Benard a line and he very kindly agreed to talk further with me about his memories of the Waterlow Estate.
Two more images from the treasure trove at the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archive, this time showing the interior of the Ainsley Street flats in the 1960s. On the back of the photographs it says ‘Waterlow Estate – Ainsley Street, converted flats’.
They are dated 1963 which is when the Local Authority took over from Greencoat properties, so I’m guessing these images are some sort of promotional material.
These images are reproduced with the permission of The Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives.
On the corner of Ainsley Street and Bethnal Green Rd sits an interesting building. Numbered 458 Bethnal Green Road, it is now the home of Providence Row Housing Association who work in the local area helping people at risk of homelessness. However it was once Bethnal Green Police Station.
Bethnal Green Police Station c1984
I’m unsure when the Police Station closed but I’ve managed to find two pieces of video footage showing the Station when it was up and running. The first seems to be some exterior library shots for Thames TV News from the 1980s.
The second is more extensive and is a collection of footage and photographs from someone who worked in CID. The video is captioned as being shot in 1991.
Historically the station was home to the J Division from around 1868 until 1933 when it fell under the H or Whitechapel division. There’s a fairly detailed breakdown of the history of the station on Bryn Elliot’s Police history site.
Bethnal Green Police Station c1907
There is also a mention in the London Echo of extra police patrols during the era of Jack the Ripper:
During the month of August, and up to the 8th instant, when Annie Chapman was killed, the following beats were covered by the men of the J Division quartered at Bethnal green, these forming what is known as the “Second Section night duty.” The first police constable would commence his two beats at Wilmot street, three Colt land, Cheshire street, Mape street, Bethnal green road, to Wilmot street, and the interior, this consisting of a few streets, courts, passages, &c. The second constable would cover Three Colt lane, Collingwood street, Darling row, Dog row, Whitechapel road, Brady street, to Three Colt lane, and the interior, this consisting of about twenty streets, courts, passages
Unfortunately I’ve been unable to find much more about the Police Station. I’d love to hear from anyone that knows about it’s history. Please get in touch via the comments.
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