Inventory Site Record

Sceaux Gardens Estate was one of the first of a series of council estates built in Camberwell in the 1950s, and was designed by the Borough Architect and set in landscaped grounds. The site was once part of the grounds of the Camberwell House Asylum. The estate's two 14-storey slab blocks were among the first tower blocks in London, and the estate also had a number of lower blocks. It was named Sceaux after the Paris suburb with which Camberwell had a Friendship Link, and other names on the estate recall this association, such as Marie Curie who lived in Sceaux and Colbert who rebuilt the chateau at Sceaux under King Louis XIV. The main public open space is largely grass, surrounded in part by low railings, with a number of mature trees and flower beds.

Site location:

Dalwood Street, Peckham

Postcode:

SE5

What 3 Words:

pretty.glad.ears

Type of site:

Housing/Estate Landscaping

Borough:

Southwark

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Peckham Rye then bus. Tube: Oval (Northern) then bus. Bus: 12, 36, 171, 345.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/04/2010

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.southwark.gov.uk

The estate has been described as 'Camberwell's showpiece . . pleasantly grouped around mature gardens' (Nikolaus Pevsner). There was once a chapel here, later destroyed in WWII, where John Ruskin had worshipped after his family moved to Denmark Hill in the 1820s, and he had a hand in designing an extension for it.

In 2010 a vast mural was created for the wall of the Marie Curie Block, designed by artist Yinka Shonibare and commissioned by the South London Gallery to mark the opening of its new buildings.

Sources consulted:

Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South (Penguin) 1999; Mary Boast, 'The Story of Camberwell', LB Southwark Neighbourhood History No. 1, 1996.

Grid ref:

TQ333768 (533350,176850)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

LB Southwark

Site management:

Housing Dept.

Date(s):

1955-9

Designer(s):

F.O.Hayes, Camberwell Borough Architect

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Sceaux Gardens

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Sceaux Gardens Estate - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 03/10/24 14:27

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