The Concrete House
Since living in East Dulwich, I have often passed the derelict house at the top of Lordship Lane.
Obviously way beyond any form of economic repair, it has been a mystery as to why it is still there when building plots are at such a premium. A chance conversation with the owners of number four revealed all…
Apparently this house is a Grade II listed building and was one of the earliest concrete houses to have been built (in 1873 or so) by a bloke called Charles Drake ( according to English Heritage that is). He apparently used a method of shuttering the concrete in iron rather than wood ( which, I suppose must have been revolutionary to be of note).
According to Jack, the owner of number four, the house was very grand in it's time and had a lovely garden of about half an acre. Over time, the house deteriorated although up until about 1980 was occupied (owned?) by a family who gave many foster children a home there. Indeed, Jack's children played with the foster children (about 14 of themhe recalls!) in the garden at that time.
Although Jack cannot remember exactly when, the lovely extended family moved out and the property was purchased by a new owner. Mysteriously (or not as it transpired) the developer removed parts of the roof and then disappeared. At the time there was much speculation that the roof had been removed to cause the property to fall into grave disrepair so that it could be demolished and the land developed.
More recently a very similar building has been built on the plot with the original house still standing nearby. I understand from the English Heritage website that some building work on the plot had breached planning conditions and as a result the Concrete House (and the plot) would be/or has now been,made subject of a compulsory purchase order.
What is astonishing is that if the Concrete House is of historical importance,why it has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent.What will a compulsory purchase do for a property that is apparently all but lost I wonder?
Ivy the joint owner of number four put it rather succinctly when she lamented the loss of this lovely building,which she passed daily, saying “such a dignified house which I always rather admired, but what can be done for it now?”