Excalibur Prefab Estate Catford

In 1989-90 the Excalibur Tenant Management

Co-operative was formed to run the estate and to campaign for its preservation.

In 1989, English Heritage informally suggested that the estate might be designated as a Conservation

Area but Lewisham Borough Council decided not to take this forward.

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In 2008 English Heritage said

the scale, setting and planning of the Excalibur Estate as a whole."

We have been asked to assess Excalibur Estate, Lewisham following concerns about the possible

redevelopment of the estate by Lewisham Council to meet the requirements of the 'Decent Homes

Standard' by 2010. The Council argues that the prefabs do not meet current standards and has

proposed that the estate be transferred to a Housing Association for redevelopment. There is

strong support amongst many of the local residents to retain the prefabs. In response to a previous

threat to the estate in 1989, English Heritage informally suggested that the estate might be designated

as a Conservation Area but Lewisham Borough Council decided not to take this forward.

The Uni-Seco, the type represented at the Excalibur Estate, was the third most common type of prefab

built as part of the Temporary Housing Programme and approximately 29,000 units were erected nationally.

The former abundance of the Uni-Seco heightens their historic significance:

these are the types of structure that a large number of people re-housed after WWII would have

inhabited. Also, the Uni-Seco is the most interesting type of prefab in design terms. With its wraparound

corner window and appearance of a flat roof, the Uni-Seco was the most avant-garde of

the prefab types and also represents one of the earliest applications of Modernist principles The

advent of the prefab, the Uni-Seco in particular, signalled a new direction for British modernism

and prefigured the widespread use of the idiom in social housing in the 1960s. While this does not

warrant listing of every Uni-Seco prefab, some of the most complete, and those with an added

and group context merit statutory protection for this special architectural, and historic interest, as is

the case at the Excalibur Estate. No Uni-Secos are currently listed, though the number of surviving examples is ever diminishing .English Heritage (Listing) Adviser's Report 27 OCT 2008

The context of the Excalibur Estate distinguishes the Uni-Seco prefabs here from others

elsewhere. First, it is the largest surviving estate of prefabs in England and, as an example

of prefab estate planning on a large scale, it is unique. The layout is successful and care has been

taken to vary the street scene by using side and front entrance prefabs and by placing some rows

of prefabs at acute angles, such as those on the north side of Persant Road. The alleyways

between the central blocks and the low level of the buildings create a distinctive environment which

differs dramatically from other nearby housing estates, both pre- and post-war. Secondly, the

estate's geographical position compounds the inherent special historic interest of the structures. In

WWII, bombs were often released on the area south of the Thames as enemy planes flew over this

area to aim at Central London and its Docklands. By November 1940, 1,647 homes had been

destroyed in the London Borough of Lewisham, in which the Excalibur Estate is situated, a total

exceeded by only two other areas, Stepney and Lambeth; Lewisham also suffered when rocket

bombs began to fall in June 1944 and was the second-most bombarded borough for V1s, the third

for V2s. It is not surprising that new housing on such a large scale was required in this area and

this context enhances the historic interest of the estate. The planning and location of the Excalibur

Estate mark it out as one of the most important prefab estates in the country as well as having the

best examples nationally of the Uni-Seco type. The survival of the individual prefabs on the Excalibur Estate varies, and this has guided our recommendation. While many of the houses to the north of the estate have been altered, either through the addition of external cladding or the insertion of porch coverings or plastic windows,

there are some sections which remain largely as built from 1944. The best surviving section of the

estate is the stretch of side entrance types, nos 1-25 and no. 39, along the south side of Persant

Road (excluding 9 and 15, which have external cladding and replaced windows respectively) and

nos 4-20 on the north side of the same road. The degree of internal survival for these buildings is

not known, but they all have their porches, original windows with the distinctive wrap-around corner

window, and have not been extended or painted in 'timber-framing'. Furthermore, the stretch on

the north side of the road illustrates the planning interest of the estate (they are placed at an acute

angle). While most are side-entrance Uni-Secos, nos 20, 25 and 39 Persant Road have a central

entrance so both types are represented in this sample. There is also an Anderson shelter in the

garden of 14 Persant Road, which strengthens the special historic interest of the group, and is

included in the recommendation. There are other individual prefabs which survive very well, on

Meliot, Pelinore and Ector Roads but these cannot be said to be part of a consistent group like

those on Persant Road. An element of the interest of the estate is in its great size and the overall impact

of its planning, with houses accessed by small alleyways and set within large gardens. There is also interest in the use

of two different Uni-Seco types here. Listing the entire estate, however, is not supportable as many

of the buildings have been altered since the 1940s. Yet a careful survey has revealed a stretch of

prefabs along Persant Road which are consistently largely unaltered, contain both types of Uni-

Seco, and evidence some of the wider planning interest. These prefabs alone, therefore, are

recommended for listing because they combine the historic and architectural interest of the whole

estate with the degree of intactness which is a crucial factor in determining special interest. For the

rest of the prefabs, which do not survive with the consitency of the Persant Road group,

the scale, setting and planning of the Excalibur Estate as a whole. St Mark's Church is contemporary with the estate but has been altered with the insertion of a porch in the late-C20. Prefabricated churches are not rare and, although the context of this church as part of such a large estate of prefabricated houses is unique, the structure is not of special architectural and historic interest and is therefore not recommended for listing. The Excalibur Estate is clearly of architectural and historic interest as the largest surviving post-war prefab estate in England. Not all the prefabs survive in their original form The prefabs on Persant Road in the Excalibur Estate are recommended for listing for the following principal reasons: special interest as part of the largest surviving post-war prefab estate in England, their a unique example of prefab estate planning on a large scale;location in one of the most heavily-bombed boroughs in the capital compounds this historic significance; the Uni-Seco prefabs are also of great architectural interest as structures built using the innovative system of prefabrication which display modernist influences in their wrap-around corner windows and appearance of flat roofs 13-APR-2007 23-MAY-2006 VISITS External only External only Caroline Richardson, Hannah Parham and Derek Kendall. Twenty-one Uni-Seco prefabricated houses, 1945-6, with minor late C20 alterations. First Countersigning Adviser: Ms V Fiorato Second Countersigning Adviser: Ms E Gee Comments: Agreed. This case has had careful thought and we are fully aware of the sensitivities. However, the special interest of this discreet group that we are recommending is undeniable and the approach is defensible: while the interest of this carefully planned immediately post-war estate is clear, only those individual elements of high survival and their own group value merit statutory designation. Comments: Agreed. This selection of prefabs from the Excalibur Estate represent relatively unaltered examples of Mark 2 and Mark 3 Uni-Seco houses and have added group value in their location either side of Persant Road. Prefabs are an increasingly rare building type and this group are of clear special interest for their form, historic interest and as a representativesample of the larger planned estate. 23.5.07. Prefabs are an increasingly rare building type and this group are of clear special interest for their form, historic interest and as a representativesample of the larger planned estate. The single storey buildings have a barely perceptibly pitched roof and a chimney and are based on 4' by 3'6" grid pattern in footprint. The windows are standard steel casements in timber frames and, of the two to the frontage, one is wrapped around the corner of the building. This,

combined with the perception of a flat roof, lends the prefabs a distinctly modernist appearance which

differs from the pre-WWII trend for neo-Georgian social housing. No. 6,persant rd although largely original and is therefore included in the listing, has a slight alteration in that the porch has been partially built up to the side. Nos 9 and 15 are much altered (9 has external cladding and 15 has replaced windows) and are therefore excluded from the listing. INTERIORS: In the Mark 2 prefabs the bathroom and kitchen are positioned back to back in a small

space towards the rear of the house, in the Mark 3 prefabs they are situated to the right of the hall and

there are two bedrooms to the left. Some of the prefabs are known to have surviving fitted cupboards

that the prefab estate was constructed by Italian and German prisoners of war. The size of the estate is

not surprising given its geographical position: by November 1940, 1,647 homes had been destroyed in

the London Borough of Lewisham, in which the Excalibur Estate is situated, a total exceeded by only

two other areas, Stepney and Lambeth; Lewisham also suffered when rocket bombs began to fall in

June 1944 and was the second-most bombarded borough for V1s, the third for V2s. The new estate

was named Excalibur in a continuation of the theme of the Downham Estate in which the roads were

named after the Knights of the Round Table; the roads on the Excalibur Estate were named after

Baudwin, Mordred, Pelinore, Ector, Wentland, Meliot and Persant.

In total, 156,623 bungalows were built between 1945 and 1949; in 1975

around 10,000 were still standing but many more have been demolished since. In London, only 300 of

the 10,000 originals survived in 1991, the majority on the Excalibur Estate which is the largest surviving

estate of prefabs in England. Prefabs had something of a regional distribution, with Uni-Secos

(produced by the Selection Engineering Company Ltd.), predominantly being erected in London and the

South East. The Uni-Seco was the third most common type of prefab built as part of the Temporary

Housing Programme and approximately 29,000 units were erected nationally. The former abundance of

the Uni-Seco heightens their historic significance: these are the types of structure that a large number

of those re-housed after WWII would have inhabited.

English Heritage (Listing) Adviser's Report 27 OCT 2008

Prefabs were largely popular with their new inhabitants, boasting modern conveniences such as fitted

kitchens with refrigerators, a compact plan and a number of built-in shelves and cupboards for storage;

they were detached dwellings on large plots offering spacious gardens and a 'country cottage' ideal to

former residents of tenements and terraces.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The prefabs on Persant Road in the Excalibur Estate are listed at

Grade II for the following principal reasons:

 special interest as part of the largest surviving post-war prefab estate in England, a unique example of

 prefab estate planning on a large scale;