Demolition works on our Underwood Road site in Tower Hamlets are now underway, in preparation for a new development that will provide much needed new homes for local people.
Peabody plans to build approximately 33 new homes on the Underwood Road site. The large majority of these homes will be available for rent, at levels affordable to people on low incomes, or for shared ownership.
A small number of homes will be for private sale, subsidising development costs and enabling Peabody to charge lower rents for the other homes.
The original buildings on the site served as a Jewish Maternity Hospital. The hospital was founded by Alice Model (1856-1943), an important Jewish philanthropist and family welfare worker, and one of the first two women appointed to the Jewish Board of Guardians in 1900. She founded the Sick Room Helps Society in 1895, a pioneer organisation which established the principle of 'home help' for new mothers, and was the prototype for later state and private agencies.
The Jewish Maternity Hospital was the society's purpose-built hospital and HQ, and was originally called the Sick Room Helps' Maternity Home. Locally the hospital was for many years known simply as Mother Levy's, after one of the district maternity superintendents who worked there. The home was rebuilt and extended between 1927 and 1928 taking over the adjacent buildings on Underwood Road. In 1938 the decision was made to sell the building to relocate to a larger premises; the new hospital opened in Stoke Newington in 1947.
Soon after, Stepney Council bought the buildings on Underwood Road and established the Mary Hughes Centre and Day Nursery. It contained an antenatal clinic, a day nursery, a hostel for nurses and a school treatment centre. The centre closed in 1996 and was later used by The Family Welfare Association to provide services for local children and adults in Tower Hamlets. In 2005 this service was closed down. The buildings, no longer being fit for purpose, were left vacant.
In 2011 Peabody bought the site from Tower Hamlet and began plans to develop this dilapidated building in to a high quality residential scheme. As part of the design Peabody intends to commemorate the history of this site while also providing much-needed affordable homes.
Peabody commissioned a historic building consultant to prepare a detailed record of the previous buildings. This has been provided to Tower Hamlets and is available to be viewed by the public.
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