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.

Category: greencoat properties

The Greencoats Tenants Association

This is the second of three blog posts based on my email conversations with John Mossell of The Streets of Waterlow Estate and Bethnal Green Facebook group. The first post detailing his memories of the estate can be found here.

John has many memories of the Greencoats Tenants Association, an organisation I’d previously only known in relation to the rent strike in the early 1960s. The community spirit evident in the wide range of activities was forged in the residents struggle with their landlords Greencoat Properties Limited.

Before we get to John’s recollections I thought it’d be useful to detail the events of the strike which was held in response to the state of the buildings and the ever rising rent demands.

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Ainsley Street buildings, 1960s

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.