Jake Mason, CEO of Evolve argues that developers should learn to make use of the rich, but now vanished history of neighbourhoods in London, highlighting how British Land could use the story of Norton Folgate…
London echoes to the sounds of countless vanished neighbourhoods. These dimly remembered areas can be much more than historical curiosities; they could potentially help to unlock planning issues across our capital.
Look at the Blossom Street Development. British Land wants to transform the area with shops, homes and offices, as well as public realm improvements, but the ambitious scheme in East London has proved divisive with local residents. Tower Hamlets Council rejected the application earlier this summer, but now the Mayor of London Boris Johnson has called the council’s decision in and could well overturn it in the near future.
Whatever your views on this scheme proposed for the edge of Spitalfields and others like it, it is true that it is crucial for property developers to make use of the rich, but now vanished history of areas just like Norton Folgate.
Norton Folgate was a self-governing area or Liberty of about ten streets on land belonging to the Priory of St Mary Spital and Hospital, located between Bishopsgate and Shoreditch. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, which began in 1536, the priory and hospital were found to be in bad repair and were eventually demolished.
All that remained was the name Spitalfields and the Liberty of Norton Folgate. By the 19th century its narrow backstreets had become a home to Huguenot weavers who had fled religious persecution in France. Now Norton Folgate is just a name of a main road but its beautiful 18th and 19th century architecture still lives on.
With a story as rich as this to tell, it presents British Land with an opportunity to weave this detail into any scheme proposed for the site, giving it a real sense of place and helping it to belong.
Despite the benefits of integrating developments with the local culture and history, it is perplexing how few property developers include it in their schemes. Many property developments lack a real sense of place or belonging to London.
But look at what Music Box achieved in Southwark. The new build took on board the narrative of the surrounding area with the theme of ‘Alive with Culture’. It aligned its architecture, retail space and marketing activities around this theme. The architectural design incorporated elements of music and the retail space was transformed into the home of the London Centre of Contemporary Music.
In fact the fins on the striking building represent piano keys and the red lighting around the lower part of the building are the notes for the Cream’s White Room song if it was played on an old fashioned music box. The British band included rock legend Eric Clapton and had a significant impact on the music scene in the late 1960s and 1970s, thus linking the development with our musical history. Meanwhile, the retail space ignored the obvious and instead became the new home of the London Centre of Contemporary Music.
We aligned their product brand and marketing activity to highlight this. Instead of the usual dry launch we tied up a partnership with Gordon Ramsay Union Street Café across the road. At this event we had videos playing on the walls of the local culture, videos of the architect speaking about the design and how it was relevant to the local area, and we also had a performance from Sub Motion orchestra.
In a short time Music Box became an important part of the area’s story. It has done this by understanding the existing narrative, and by finding intelligent and sympathetic ways to join, reflect, and enhance that story.
The lost area of Norton Folgate presents an amazing opportunity to create a special place. It boasts a wealth of narratives which could be incorporated into any development. And there are many other lost areas just like Norton Folgate scattered around London which developers could mine for inspiration.
Another vanished area of London is Agar Town which was built in the 1840s behind what is now St Pancras Station. Sadly the Victorian neighbourhood boasted slum like conditions: it had no street lighting, cleaning or sewerage. The whole place was sold to the Midland Railway company in 1866 and demolished to make way for the coming of the railway. Today it is partly occupied by the 1980s homes of Elm Village.
Cripplegate is another fascinating example. The neighbourhood grew around a gate in the Roman London Wall. One of its famous residents was Oliver Cromwell during the 17th century. But by the Second World War, bombs raised the historic area to the ground and only some of its streets were rebuilt.
Sadly a new narrative of our capital is forming around the bland supermarkets and coffee chains that seem to form part of the ground floor of every new development. How much would proposals stand out if developers made a conscious attempt to recreate the London High Street of not so many years ago? How could they use these rich tales of vanished London neighbourhoods? Londoners want new developments to embrace their local history and culture. And it is these developments which the city will welcome with open arms.
Jake Mason
CEO
Evolve
Tel: 020 3176 0938
hello@evolveagency.com