I have a newspaper cutting from 1967 which gives an idea of the state of the blocks at the end:
East London tenants win battle of ‘The Buildings’
“By B.P. PARSLEY (Chairman Blackwall Buildings Tenants Association)
“BLACKWALL BUILDINGS is a rotting slum tenement in the East London Borough of Tower Hamlets: It is owned by the Westminster Property and Investment Company.
“Out of 156 flats, there are very few that do not suffer from excessive dampness, dry rot, rotted window frames, bugs, black beetles silverfish, and cockroaches, broken windows, no sash cords, very uneven floorboards, broken skirting boards, plaster falling out of the walls, ceilings badly cracked, and falling down in places, bad wiring, no ventilation, warped doors, inadequate power points, very bad chimneys and fireplaces.
“There are 20 washhouses, which means one washhouse for four families, and as most of the tenants have children this is not at all healthy. Tenants have no alternative water supply in the winter when the pipes freeze up.
“There are two toilets between four families, and most of these either need new cisterns, or bowls, or chains. The landings are supplied with lights which are very rarely on, as no one of authority is sent to check and see if all the lights are on. Most of the landing ceilings are falling down, and rain pours through on to the landing and stairs, which make the stairs slippery and dangerous. The railings are broken on many of the roofs, and the roof doors bang most of the night as many of them cannot be locked.
“Rats are constantly seen in and around the buildings, especially in the washhouse. There is also a waste debris at the bottom of the flats that is riddled with rats. Tenants are afraid to leave their children outside for fear of rats.
“If there was a big fire in Blackwall Buildings you could say goodbye to the majority of the tenants as the gas main is near the chute, and the chute is wood, and all the railings are wood on the stairs, and the only way out is the roof.
“Many children have been in and out of hospital with bronchitis, and fevers, mostly caused by the excessive dampness, and filth. The grounds are swept, but never adequately kept clean, There is always broken glass on the landings, up the stairs, and in the courtyard. The only ground that the children can play in is also full of broken glass, and children are always being brought in severely cut. In fact one little boy will be scarred the rest of his life, because of this.
“In December last year the tenants association won its first battle when we took the landlords to the rent officer, who reduced the rent of each flat by approximately 15s 2d and ordered the landlords to carry out all external repairs to the buildings.
“Now after eight months fighting we have won the major battle. Tower Hamlets council has agreed that the buildings should be pulled down and has instructed the medical officer of health to draw up a detailed survey to show that the property is a slum.”

After the flats were emptied for demolition I have heard they had squatters for a while. However in the end they were demolished. In 1983 the site was being used by the “Whitechapel Car and Commercial Auctions Ltd”. Their address was “The Car Park, Fulbourne Street”. There is no listing in the phone book for 1982 for this company, so it’s thought they started in 1983.

Later (I don’t know when) the plot was bought by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and now is leased to Tower Hamlets Community Housing and is used for community houses. (See the pictures page for current photos).