The forgotten stories of Kennington’s Rastafarian squatters and Waterloo’s cardboard-box-dwelling homeless are to be rediscovered.
Historic England’s ‘Everyday Heritage’ programme will see 56 ‘working-class’ London histories retold thanks to £875,000 funding.
Kingswood House, a Grade-II listed Victorian ‘castle’ at the centre of the Kingswood Estate is the third Southwark-based recipient.
Tom Foxall, Historic England Regional Director, said: “There are so many hidden histories to uncover here in London. Every community has a story to tell and we want to hear them.”
Untold histories of St Agnes Place, House of Dread, Kennington
House of Dread’s project will explore and document the untold histories of what is thought to be London’s longest-running squat.
Based at St Agnes Place in Kennington, the street hosted people who existed on the margins of society and eventually became a central meeting point for Britain’s Rastafari community.
Known as the House of Dread since the 1980s, there is little archival information documenting Rastafaris’ relationship with the buildings.
Public historian and curator Dr Aleema Gray and a group of community producers will work in consultation with Rastafari Movement UK to coordinate a series of community conversations.
These will help create a digital learning resource to examine how and why St Agnes Place evolved as a thriving hub of Rastafari activity.
The project has received £24,980 from Historic England.
The Lost City of Cardboard: A Homelessness Heritage Project, The Bridge At Waterloo
For around 20 years during the ‘80s and ‘90s, thousands of homeless people slept in cardboard boxes in the underpasses between Waterloo Station and the South Bank.
Public consciousness of Cardboard City is fading and many of those who lived there are in poor health or have since died.
St John’s Waterloo and The Bridge At Waterloo are working to remember and memorialise this history.
Led by artists and people who have experienced homelessness, this project will sensitively engage with individuals who lived in Cardboard City and those who supported its inhabitants.
Participants will shape the outcomes of the project which will involve research and documentation of narratives, individuals, and objects linked to Cardboard City.
The project has received £24,950 from Historic England.
Seasons of Kingswood Life, Kingswood Arts, Dulwich
Kingswood House is a Grade II listed Victorian ‘castle’ in the middle of the Kingswood estate near Sydenham Hill station.
Kingswood Arts will work with local people over to create a permanent exhibition exploring the “working-class history” of the building and the estate from 1811 to present
Local people will record their experiences through the changing seasons, showing the cycles of working-class life throughout its history as a private house to a wartime hospital, and later as a library and community centre.
The project has received £25,000 funding from Historic England.