Camden Archive Photographs
AUDIO RECORDING OF TEXT
These are a collection of images which show the work of the St Pancras Housing Association in Camden at various points in the 20th century. The first organisation of its kind in London, it began building council flats before WW2, and continued to do so after the war. Many residents actually saw 'the blitz’ as an opportunity to rebuild better housing than the ‘slums’ which a large percentage of working class people lived in pre war.
The association was established and founded by Father Basil Jellicoe, who believed that good quality, affordable, housing was the foundation for a successful life. The faith of the organisation is reflected in the brick blessings featured in the photographs and saintly names of the blocks of flats. The organisation still exists today, though operates under the name ‘Origin Housing’
The funding to build these flats came from a place that would seem unexpected to us today - the church - who saw it as their responsibility to help the members of its community. This sense of responsibility seems lost to many of us as we face the housing crisis today - housing co-operatives and organisation seem fewer and more privatised than ever. This tide needs to turn. How can we be more creative about housing? How can we encourage our MPs to advocate for tenant’s rights? How can a rent cap be put in place?
A large proportion of POC (Person/People of Colour) families are and have been residents of London’s Social Housing. While many council flats are safe and in good nick, many are not. Residents living in unsafe conditions face overcrowding and lack of safety precautions which can threaten their health and lives. Additionally, there are often barriers for non white families to get into social housing in the first place: there can be requirements of living in a neighbourhood for a certain number of years, or agendas to steer residents and families away from predominantly white neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the privatisation of social housing in the past several decades has meant that many tenants are dealing with private landlords, who have even less responsibility to uphold a healthy standard of living.
Around 2% of the housing sector is working towards a solution. There are around 70 specialist BAME (Black, Asian, Ethnic Minority) Housing Associations, but very few are based in Camden. One that is, is the BME (Black and Ethnic Minority) Housing Association Odu-Dua, who manages around 170 properties in Camden, alongside the KCBNA, an organisation which works to support ethnic minority families based in Camden and Kings Cross.
Below is a link to a PDF of ‘Deep Roots, Diverse Communities, Dedicated Service: The Legacy, Value and Future Potential of Black and Minority Ethnic Housing Organisations in England’
https://humancityinstitute.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/deep-roots-diverse-communities-dedicated-service2.pdf