Radical Housing in Tower Hamlets

New exhibition and events programme

Radical Housing in Tower Hamlets
20 June - 22 September 2016

Tower hamlets Local History are pleased to announce our next local history exhibition and events programme which will run for three months over the summer: Radical Housing in Tower Hamlets. From the rent strikes of the 1930s to the squatting movement of the 1970s and the formation of the first housing co-operatives, the fight for decent and affordable housing has a long history in London's East End.
Drawn exclusively from the archive and local history library collections and curated by  Learning & Participation Officer Perdita Jones, the upcoming exhibition will provide an overview of tenant action in Tower Hamlets, highlighting some of the key events and movements which have taken place over the last 100 years.

The exhibition was programmed to tie in with the conference Radical Histories; Histories of Radicalism organised by the Raphael Samuel History Centre, which took place next door to us at Queen Mary, University of London, from 30 June - 3 July.

So far confirmed are the events below to accompany the exhibition, with more being added to the programme over the next few weeks. All activities in the programme are free and take place at THLHLA, with the exception of the guided walk.

Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
277 Bancroft Road
London
E1 4DQ
020 7364 1290

To book, please call 020 7364 1290 or email: localhistory@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Exhibition Launch
Thursday 7 July 2016, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Join us for the formal launch of the exhibition with guest speakers to be announced. Free, no booking required.

Walk: Social Housing in Poplar
Tuesday 26th July, 7-9pm
Join Borough archivist Malcolm Barr-Hamilton for a walk exploring the history of social housing in Poplar. Limited space, booking essential.

Talk: East End Migrants and the Battle for housing 
Saturday 6th August, 2-3pm
Join academic and architect Sarah Glynn, who will talk about the struggle of Jewish and Bengali migrants for housing during the 1930s and 1970s respectively. Just drop in, no need to book. (past tense note: check out http://www.sarahglynn.net/ ...some very interesting stuff on housing struggles, rent strikes and more...)

Talk: Setting the Record Straight: housing politics and the archive
Thursday 18th August 6.30-7.30pm
Elena Carter, archivist, will explore how housing activists create and use archival resources to create a 'useful' past. Just drop in, no need to book.

Walk: Housing in Bethnal Green
Saturday 20 August 2016, 2:00 - 4:00pm
A guided walk exploring the housing heritage of Bethnal Green. Free, booking essential.

Film screening: Goodbye Longfellow Road
Saturday 17 September 2016, 2:00 - 3:30pm
A free screening of rarely seen 'Goodbye Longfellow Road' (1977, 78 mins), a documentary originally broadcast on ITV, telling the story of the residents of a Stepney street. Declared a slum in the 1930s, earmarked for demolition in 1943 but still inhabited in the 1970s: what happened when the bulldozers finally moved in?
No booking required.

http://ideastore.co.uk/local-history-whats-on

Past Tense comments: 
"... Especially important at the moment with so much upheaval in East London, gentrification, displacement and deliberate dismantling of social housing, and the growing resistance from those being forced out and displaced."