12 Views of Kensal House - ACE149.6

Caption: "Kensal House from All Souls canal bridge." Commentary says that no single factor can be wholly responsible for the decline of Kensal House and asks if the design itself had something to do with it. Watkins talks about people washing in the inadequately sized kitchens because there were no basins in the bathrooms. Covering letter for copy of "entirely frank" report from December 1942, What the Tenants Think of Kensal House. Extracts from report (read over extracts from Kensal House) particularly on tenants’ views of the kitchens. Stephen Bayley talking about the kitchen as social centre, and thinks that though Modern Movement architecture offered interesting exteriors, interiors were often not responsive to people’s needs. Caption: "The return of the Bristol Train." Extracts from Kensal House and other footage. Commentary talks about the decreasing level of financial support offered to the flats after the war, saying that the gas company decided to sell the building in 1947, as its publicity value was outweighed by its costs. Fry says he was told that the rents were too low to cover even basic maintenance. The London County Council finally took over the flats in 1951, and used them for social housing. Watkins says that, while the gas company would vet tenants carefully, the LCC didn’t. They hoped that "rough" people would be helped by "decent" people, but in fact the standards brought down. Reg and Alice Cole talking about vandalism and theft. Caption: "Fishermen passing along the Grand Union Canal." Commentary says that LCC policy was to assign "first grade" tenants to new property and "second grade" to re-lets which is what Kensal House had become without its social facilities. Gwen Cole says that the neighbourhood changed and women felt less safe on the streets. Commentary talks about the break-up of local communities, and the increase in crime. Watkins describes break-ins to her flat.