The Life and Legacy of George Peabody: from Spitalfields to Thamesmead – an illustrated talk by Christine Wagg
The Life and Legacy of George Peabody: from Spitalfields to Thamesmead – an illustrated talk by Christine Wagg
Monday 15th July at The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ 6.30 pm
The talk will outline the life and work of George Peabody, the American merchant banker and philanthropist that founded the Peabody Trust in 1862 to "ameliorate the conditions of the poor and needy of London". It will continue with an account of the work undertaken by Peabody, from the completion of the first estate in Spitalfields in 1864 to the ongoing regeneration of Thamesmead.
There will be a particular focus on estates built by Peabody during the 20th century, including the Hammersmith estate which opened in 1926, the last Peabody estate to have a communal laundry and bathhouse. The impact of World War II and the construction of new estates from the mid-1950s onwards such as Roscoe Street (pictured, credit: Peabody London) will be covered, as well as Peabody's acquisition of properties from other organisations providing working-class housing such as the Westminster Housing Trust's Tachbrook Street estate, which opened in the 1930s and was very forward-looking for its day. The talk will also look at the late 1990s when Peabody took over three former council estates and created new developments, several of which have won architectural awards.
Christine Wagg joined Peabody in 1992 and is now Peabody's in-house historian. She is co-author of Homes for London - the Peabody story (2018), a history of the organisation from its foundation to today. Books will be available to buy on the evening.
Members’ price: £8.00 (to include a glass of wine)
Non members: £12.00 (to include a glass of wine)
Student: £5.00 (to include a glass of wine)