VICTORIAN PINE BOARDS RECLAIMED FROM KENNINGTON SQUAT
LASSCO Flooring has just retrieved 20,000 linear feet of quality Victorian pine floorboards from the famous St. Agnes Place, Kennington, London.On 29th November 2005, 150 squatters were evicted from 22 Victorian houses in St. Agnes Place. The street was famed as one of Britain’s oldest squats. Home to a Rastafarian temple and host to a variety of colourful characters over the years, none more so than the reggae singer, Bob Marley, who lived briefly in the street.
The buildings were first illegally inhabited back in 1974, at a time when Lambeth Council was planning to demolish them as unfit for human habitation. Although the squatters were awarded a 16-year lease in 1984, by November 2005, Lambeth Council had won eviction orders from the High Court.
Although these Victorian houses are soon to be replaced by modern, affordable housing, LASSCO has been lucky to rescue a part of its colourful history. And who knows, your future floor could once have moved to the rhythm of reggae!
posted by LASSCO Press at 2:32 AM
1 Comments:
It's interesting to note that in the late seventies a number of St Agnes Place residents worked for LASSCO, in particular salvaging elm, oak and pine at Cutler's Wharf.
The carved stone restoration at St Michael's was done by Mel Morris Jones, s stone carver who had been instrumental in setting up St Agnes Place as a community.
To correct one misapprehension, the council wanted to demolish the buildings to make parkland, this would have been a quid pro quo for widening the nearby road junction at the Oval.
Stefan Lorett.
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