NOTE ALL PICTURES ARE THUMBNAILS - CLICK ON A PICTURE TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION.

The first 4 pictures are reproduced here courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives and I thank them for their permission to use them. The first and second pictures below are of unknown date, but I would guess just after the Second World War as the railings in the first photo have been cut down. There was a huge need for metal in the war and railings generally were removed. On the right a picture from 1967 in the last days of Blackwall Buildings.

And finally from the Tower Hamlets collection one just before they were demolished in 1969. This best shows the layout of the blocks. This is taken from the spot where the "baby in the pram" is in the picture below and shows the corner where the "casuals" are waiting in the Peter Higginbotham picture.

Now a picture showing the Buildings in 1960. Note the "modern" flats in the background. This is Lister House and more will be said about this place in the future.

I wondered if the woman leaning out of the third floor window was the mother of the two small boys. But I have found out her name was Mrs Mackie and she did indeed have two sons - Freddie and Alec, and a daughter called Edie, but the boys could not have been in the cart, as at the time it was taken the boys would have been much older. I do wonder if the boy sitting in the box thought this was his race car! I have also noted the refuse chutes appear to have been burnt at some time. (Picture from the London Metropolitan Archive)

This next picture was taken by J.E. Connor approximately 1966. He is a very knowledgeable man and I have had a long conversation with him about the builders and owners of the flats.

The building in the background is Lister House. This was the block to the West of Blackwall Buildings and was built on the old workhouse site. I have a photo from Jan Tidiman taken in the early '60's. She lived in Lister house and said "Not sure if you’d be interested in this but I have just visited your site on Blackwall Buildings, enjoyed it very much.  I did not live there but just opposite in Lister House in the early 60s.  There was a large brick wall between us and the buildings and we did not really mix, although we could see into the courtyards from our window.  I am attaching a photo which shows the buildings in the background.

"Lister House was built I think late 1950s, early 1960s.  It is actually on Vallance Road, but on the map it is where the word Union is.  Behind Lister House was a small modern block (can't remember the name) and then behind that was Hughes Mansions which were quite old and sustained bomb damage and a lot of deaths in WW2.  The recreation ground in front was known as 'Itchy Park' because of the vagrants that used to congregate there.  The school opposite Lister House on Vallance Road was Robert Montefiore Senior." Since putting this in the site I ahve found out that the modern block was called Treves House (named after the Doctor in The London Hospital who took in and looked after John Merrick (the so called Elephant Man) who's skeleton is still in The Royal London. 

Here are three pictures from Derek Gray. He has kindly agreed for me to put them on the site. The first one is quite sad. It shows the funeral of his sister in 1936. She died at less than one year old and you can see from her coffin that she was just a small baby. Although less common in the 1930s than when the Buildings were built, infant mortality was still an unfortunate part of life. The second photo shows his niece Joyce who was also born in the Buildings. The photo was taken 1961-62. The children used to play on the roof when the weather was good. THe women also used to dry their washing their in the Summer. The final photo shows Derek aged 17 or 18 around 1961.

Now we have a picture we have already seen and a new one to compliment it. Blackwall Buildings is on the right and behind us. These pictures are from 1902 and are courtesy of Peter Higginbotham www.workhouses.org.uk. They show the Casuals ward of the Whitechapel Workhouse. This later became St Peter's Hospital and can be seen in the pictures below after it had closed as a hospital in 1948. The left hand picture shows the recreation ground and Kearley and Tonge in the background. The right hand picture is the "long side" of the casuals ward. The house on the left of this picture is in Thomas Street and is the same house on the left hand side of the left hand picture!

Now we have one from my own family archive. The baby in the photo is a relative of mine. You can see Kearley and Tonge completed in the background and Blackwall Buildings is again on the right and behind us. This picture was taken in 1928

As a complete contrast I now put two pictures taken by Michael Tyrrell. These show Trahorn Close and Lomas Street today. Its interesting to see how the area has changed and how nice the buildings look. This is a far cry from the slums of the 1969 period.

I have three pictures of St Peter's Hospital, converted from the old Casuals Ward in 1924 (see above). The recreation ground can clearly be seen (with the railings removed for the war effort). Blackwall Buildings are in the background of the second and third picture. It shows the white glazed bricks on the top two floors of the block. Kearley and Tonge is in the background of the first picture (see below). These pictures must have been taken shortly after 1948, when the hospital was closed. (Pictures from the London Metropolitan Archive)

Finally here are two pictures of the Kearley and Tonge building from the other side. In both cases Blackwall Buildings are behind them. The left hand photo shows K & T from Durward Street looking North. Vallance Road is on the left of this picture running past the side of the third block. Thomas Street runs between the second and third building in the distance, Cross Street between the first and second. This photo came from an old K & T staff magazine and has been posted on the Internet by Ray King on his very informative site: http://www.internationalstores.co.uk. The right hand picture is taken from the corner of Vallance Road and Whitechapel Road. its shows two of the three K & T buildings.

I hope to add to this library of pictures and would urge anyone who knew the Buildings, lived in them or took pictures to contact me

Guy