Golden Lane Estate
Coordinates: 51°31′20″N 0°05′44″W / 51.5223°N 0.0956°W
The Golden Lane Estate is a 1950s council housing complex in the City of London. It was built on the northern edge of the City, in an area devastated by bombing during World War II.
The idea to build a residential site to the north of the Cripplegate area, followed devastation of much of the City of London in the Blitz during World War II. Following almost complete destruction in the Blitz, only around 500 residents remained in the City in 1950, a mere 50 of whom lived in Cripplegate. The brief was to provide general needs council housing for the many people who serviced or worked in the City, as part of the comprehensive recovery and re-building strategy of the City of London.
As the Estate then fell within the boundary of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, a proportionate number of tenancies were also offered to those on the Finsbury waiting list. A boundary change in 1994 means the estate is today wholly inside the City of London.
Compared to other council housing of the era, there was a greater emphasis on the housing needs of single people and couples rather than larger families. Studios and one bedroomed flats comprise the majority (359) of the units (554 in total). The density at 200 person per acre was high, but 60% of the area of the site is open space, a figure made possible by building taller structures than was common in 1951.
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