Streatham Street is a street in the London district of
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, running between
New Oxford Street and
Great Russell Street. In the
19th century, the street was on the border of the
"rookery" of St Giles, a
slum, and became the location for new accommodation, which reformers planned would replace the slums.
Parnell House was built in the 1850s by
Henry Roberts. Originally constructed by the Society of Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes, the building was designed to reform the living conditions of
slum residents.
Whereas whole families had lived together in one room, now they could enjoy a more spacious living space. The Streatham Street apartments were the first
multi level domestic building in the world. Subsequent buildings were erected by George Peabody, and Streatham Street was taken over by the Peabody Trust and modernised in later years.
References
Streets in the London Borough of Camden
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