History

It all started in the summer of 1976, when Lewisham council succeeded in finding 14 families to join their self-build scheme to design and build their own homes on four new sites in the borough which were considered unsuitable for building conventional types of housing

The houses were timber-framed and designed by the architect, Walter Segal took out the need to use standard building techniques and claimed the houses could be constructed by people with absolutely no building skills!

One of the first self-builders was my father, Ken Atkins, who became a great advocate of self-build and the chairman of the Lewisham Self-Build Housing Association.
He campaigned tirelessly for over three and a half years to get planning permission for the scheme approved and access to funding by achieving approval from Lewisham council to authorise a shared ownership scheme. While still working full-time as a floor technician, he used every spare minute to get on site and complete the build in just 11 months!
He then went on to lecture and support other self-build schemes, including a project in Wales now known as the Centre of Alternative Technology (CAT).

Although my father’s house is still situated next door at Number 13, it will not be open for public view. However, you will be able to get a sense of the structure of the building as the house you have access to at Number 11 was built as part of the same Lewisham self-build scheme by another self-builder, Ron Smith, and has been adapted and extended over time.
There will also be a display of some archive materials of the Lewisham self-build scheme and do feel free to ask any questions about the house and its history.

It may even inspire you to build one of your own!