Pull those chairs a little closer still, boys and girls, as promised this is the second installment of the Duchy of Cornwall’s influence on the architecture of our area. This time we move forward and north east towards Oval and Vauxhall. Sorry Walworth, we will spread our pixie dust on good yourselves as soon as possible. We’re currently investigating zebras and lions in Pasley Park.
As mentioned last week, the town planner and architect Stanley Ashtead is responsible for the look and feel of much of post Victorian Kennington. He was influenced by the Georgian architecture of Kennington Road and this is heavily in evidence at Kennington Palace Court, below, circa 1922. There are also other examples in Black Prince Road and Sandcroft St. However, at the same time change was afoot in our area, and there was an increasing need for more high density housing.
Following WW1 the Duchy undertook a number of projects to further alleviate some affects of local deprivation. In spite of the Duchy’s many achievements conditions of poor housing endured, and as land became available (called ‘disposals’ for the nerdy sort) London County Council demanded that something be executed. As a response the Duchy sold sites to the east of the Oval to LCC (which later became Lambeth Council). The Kennington Estate was the result, and the buildings live on as mighty tributes to famous Cricket players of the past, such as George Lohman and Bill Brockwell. You can even see the influence of the Duchy incorporated into the columns at the Oval end of the Cricket ground, if you look closely. If you don’t fancy looking closely we have a picture below
We again post an interesting doc about the Duchy of Cornwall estate and it can be found here. The Kennington funness kicks off at minute 41. If you’ve read this far then you probably have an interest in buildings. If this is the case we are going to a consultation this week about a proposed high rise slated for Kennington Lane, and we will let you know what we find….A case of history repeating, if ever there was one.
