Old Oak to White City: a walk through London’s 20th century public housing

This thought-provoking walk between East Acton and White City explores how social housing developed in London in the 20th century, setting standards for the rest of the U.K.

The story begins on the Old Oak Estate where the London County Council (LCC) applied garden city ideas to build charming cottages for working class people before and after World War I.

Next you'll walk through the Wormholt Estate, built by Hammersmith borough council as part of Prime Minister Lloyd George's "homes for heroes" program after World War I, and finally completed by the London County Council (LCC).

Moving on to the1920s and 1930s, you'll explore Peabody Trust's Cleverly Estate and the LCC's White City Estate, which offered new levels of comfort for tenants in high-quality self-contained flats.

Noel and Alina Moffett's system-built modernist block, whose hexagonal design is inspired by the Giants' Causeway, brings you into the 1960s. The final stop in the 1970s is on the low-rise Wood Lane Estate, designed by groundbreaking architects Darbourne & Darke.