This collection of photographs records the wedding of Frederick Aldridge and Ada Walsh, who married in August 1915 at St Mary’s church, EC1. The couple set-up home in block G of the original Roscoe Street estate and went on to have three children Frederick, Albert and Iris.  They all enjoyed their time on the Peabody estate and being active members of the nearby St Mary’s church. Posted from London, England, United Kingdom.

We are delighted to announce that Jane D’Angelo has won the Peabody 150th anniversary website competition, as her story is the most popular on the website, with a total of 16 ‘likes’. Jane’s story was an account of the day that the Duke of York visited her home on Peabody Avenue, as part of the official opening of the new estate blocks last November. She also recounted her memories of life growing up on the estate, as the third generation in her family to live in a Peabody property. Jane with her husband Franco (centre), Peabody Chair Chris Strickland (left)…

Today is World Book Day – as people up and down the country celebrate their favourite books and authors, keep reading to find out about the famous authors who have connections with Peabody estates. With its location near the River Thames, Chelsea Gardens estate has been the residence of two famous authors. In 1882, Kenneth Grahame moved to Chelsea Gardens at the age of 23. He had been working as a clerk at the Bank of England since the age of 20, and while living on the Chelsea Gardens estate he worked his way up the ranks to become Secretary….

Alan Kingshott was born on Hammersmith estate in the 1950s – in the first instalment of his collection of memories, Alan describes his family’s stories about their experiences of World War Two. My place of birth was in fact, the family home: a small two bedroom  flat, sixty feet up from the ground, on an estate called Peabody Buildings, Hammersmith, London, which was one of many such estates that had been built across London to give working families a roof over their head at a reasonable rent and one which they could afford. I was the second child of my…

As our 150th anniversary year draws to a close, we are delighted to announce the second winner of our iPad prize draw. Sue Jackson, from our Bessborough Street estate, has been selected as the lucky resident!   Sue with her new iPad, at her home on Bessborough Street  Sue was delighted to win the iPad:  “You don’t know how fantastic it is to receive this! I’m doing lots of animation work at the moment, so the iPad will allow me to try out new ideas. I’ll be able to develop my work for Mac users, as well as the PC…

Do you have any photos documenting your life on a Peabody estate? Perhaps you have some photos of the street parties during the Queen’s coronation in 1953? Maybe you have some images of your family sporting the latest fashion in the 1960s? Or perhaps the hairstyles of the 1970s? We are gathering images from Peabody residents, to be featured in a new book about Peabody’s history.   As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, the book that we are publishing is intended to be the definitive account of Peabody’s history over the past 150 years. Charting the Peabody story, from…

Following on from the BBC series Call the Midwife, which vividly recalled the era when homebirths were commonplace, SAGA magazine recently featured an article detailing the memories of midwives during the 1950s and 1960s. Mary, who trained as a midwife in 1955, recalls a time when the midwife would be absorbed into the family, often visiting for up to fourteen days after the birth. Peabody is also mentioned in the article, as Mary recalls how families living on the local Peabody estate ‘would share one tap on the landing’, but that ‘it never detracted from the magic of the birth’. Throughout…

You may have seen our own Shaftesbury Park estate on BBC2 this week – as part of the series on Great British Railway Journeys. Joan, who has lived on the estate her whole life, and Doreen, who has lived there for the past 30 years,  were interviewed by presenter Michael Portillo, who described the Battersea estate as a ‘model of affordable social housing’.     The programme features Joan’s and Doreen’s stories about how life on the estate has changed, as well as some fantastic historical images of the area. You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer - tune in at…

Were you at a Peabody street party last year? Or did you have a go at our 150th anniversary Cycle Tour? Maybe you were one of many Peabody residents at our Volunteer Awards last November? We want to hear your story! We have just extended the deadline of our prize draw for residents, employees, and everyone connected with Peabody to write in and tell us your story! Throughout 2012, we have been inundated with your stories and memories about life on Peabody estates, past and present. From stories about our celebrations last year, such as Sue’s experience of her first…

From Peabody estates across London, the superintendents and porters gathered for a reunion in 1919 after many had returned home from combat duty in the First World War. As you can see, the staff had a variety of delicious food and drink:   The dinner was such as success that it was continued and became a yearly event. We have several images and menus from the dinners from the 1920s:   We received these menus from Leonard Broadbent, who inherited them from his father, a porter on several Peabody estates. Leonard can also remember going to the Christmas parties that…