Charles Booth's Poverty Map (1880s) showing Walcot Square and the surrounding area

The Walcot Estate
The Hayle's and Walcot charities built hundreds of local properties in the 18th and 19th centuries, including Walcot Square and some surrounding streets in the 1830s.

In the 1980s and 1990s some houses in and around Walcot Square were sold and the proceeds re-invested in other assets. Today the Foundation owns c80 local houses, flats and commercial properties. It also owns and maintains the greens in Walcot Square and St Mary's Gardens. Our present policy is to retain our local property holdings, which generate roughly half our annual income and directly fund our charitable work.

• Walcot Square was laid out and the houses erected in 1837–39, numbers 9–81 by John Woodward of Paradise Street, 16–24 by Charles Newnham of Newnham Place, Paris Street, and 26–50 by John Chapman of Waterloo Road, builder. The houses are of simple terrace type in yellow stock brick with stucco surrounds to the entrances and a plain coping above the parapets.
• Number 19 (formerly No. 60) was occupied in 1870 by William Henry Rich Jones (1817–85), antiquary. He was born in Christ Church parish, Blackfriars. He was vicar of Bradford-on-Avon in 1851–85 and published several antiquarian works.
• Number 20 (formerly 4) was occupied in 1840–41(?) by William Hosking (1800–1861), architect and civil engineer. Apprenticed in Sydney to a builder, he came to England in 1819. He was engineer to the West London Railway and later held a professorship at King's College, London. He designed Trinity Chapel, Poplar, and buildings in Abney Park cemetery. His most important publication was a work on bridges; he claimed to have originated the design for the British Museum Reading Room. He married a daughter of William Clowes, the printer.
• At number 77 (formerly 31) in 1840–41 lived Thomas Barnes (1785–1841), editor of The Times. 

External link: The Walcot Estate in Vol XXIII of The Survey of London

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There is often interest in our local history

• See here for material about specific addresses and streets, as well as recollections about the Walcot Estate during WW2
• Download Maud Zimmermann's 1996 Edmund Walcot's Estate booklet (PDF)​

Restrictive covenants If you are the owner of a property which once belonged to the Foundation it is highly likely that a restrictive covenant attaches to it. This places certain obligations on you. Further information

Walcot charities staff outing - c1930s (click to enlarge)

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restrictive covenants

If you own a property which once belonged to the Foundation it is highly likely that it is the subject of a restrictive covenant. This limits your freedom in choice of exterior paint colours, in the putting up of aerials, satellite dishes, external alarm fittings and some other matters. It will also mean that the consent of the Foundation. more...

Walcot Mews Development

This page contains information about the planning and construction of six new properties on a site that originally had housing and after WW2 bombing had garages. The Foundation planned for its development from around 2010. The aim was to make the best use of land and to increase income for our charitable work.   more... 

Tenant resources

Out of Hours
If you have a genuine property related emergency outside office hours, please contact our out of hours contractor Daisy on 07449308616.
If you are unable to get through to our out of hours contractor please search for a local contractor and  more...

​Historic information on particular properties

House at corner of Kennington Road and Walcot Square being repaired after WW2 bomb damage. We were delighted to meet Mrs Ella Underwood who as a child and young adult lived on the Walcot Estate (including in this property) and who recounted stories of the Estate during war time.    more...

There are no longer any shops in Walcot Square. In the past there was a grocery shop (corner of Sullivan Road and Walcot Square) and backing on to it a hardware shop which also sold oil (and coal in small quantities when the old-fashioned delivery carts and vans vanished).  more...