Barbican, 1969: The development of the Barbican Estate following World War II

[@andyaim4764]

I worked at Barbican Station. We had a tabby cat called “Barbicat” when she died the cast of Cats in the west end came down and signed a memorial board.

[@paulone7042]

You make me smile

[@andyaim4764]

There was a Evening Standard seller called George who worked at the top of the steps at Barbican Stn, he sold the paper there for more than forty years... His family paid to have a brass plaque put up! No contributions from the regular commuters. When the cat died over £500 was received in memorial gifts.... Says a lot about our society

[@Spectrescup]

@@andyaim4764 what says most about our society, if you excuse my presumption, is the way Evening Standard sellers were done out of a job literally overnight, when the paper was made free for sale. Not a single seller I spoke to had been consulted or forewarned. A good Standard pitch (and earlier, the Evening News and Sketch too) , was not just a good job, but one you could hand on to your children. I suppose there were multi-millionaires who felt they weren't making enough money, so working peoples livelihoods needed to be terminated.

[@lmusima3275]

Awwwh poor thing ❤

[@ajs41]

Which year was that, roughly?

[@madgebishop5409]

i love the voices of the narrators on these old documentaries

[@geemonster9179]

Very British and well educated, i call it BBC English Lol

[@wordscaninspire114]

My mum lived there during the blitz. She was a child not evacuated. She lived through the bombings going down the shelter. Her road was not bombed but all the residential roads around were. My great uncle would help bring out the dead. My poor grandma was petrified. This is bringing me tears because my mum now 83 lived through this and recalls how the Barbican was all bombed and then re built. Stressful times during the war years with much hardship as well as fortitude.

[@Jack_Stafford]

This video is brilliant! I found myself several times checking to make sure that I had the date right, the restoration of this film makes it look like it was made yesterday! I only hope that the Barbican is being restored and looked after in a similar manner. Absolutely astonishing the clarity and colour and crispness of this film!

[@simonrich3811]

Yes back then, good quality film stock had the clarity and colour balance to rival HD video today. It's just that we are sometimes used to seeing poor quality, faded and scratched old prints and SD video of old films.

[@wanderingpots]

They don't allow dogs 😐. The flats are small. Still, it's an example of what estates could be with the right level of upkeep and care.

[@kidfromtheseventies]

Oh man, I swear with KZbin as my witness, the day I win the lottery I'm buying a place in the Barbican.....a big place

[@Roeni3]

Hi kidfromtheseventies, interesting comment you leave there! I am working on an art project about the Barbican, trying to understand what it is about this place that makes people relate to it so much. It seems to have this aura that never diminishes. Would you maybe be up for a chat sometime and talk about this some more? If you're interested you can mail me on [e-mail], or leave a reply here. My website is www.jeroenpool.nl.

[@Tmuk2]

+kidfromtheseventies - -Me too! Place in the Barbican and a county pile for the weekends. I worked in Farringdon for years and always used to take my lunch and sit somewhere in the Barbican. Never tire of the place.

[@trainrover]

It's alienating, no appeal..Quebecers certainly do the likes of Barbican s o much better..plus I noticed that pedestrians plied that turfed boulevard dozens of times more than any of that complex's barren t r e e l e s s promenades above.

[@mikep2099]

Cardinal Sin well the eight flats currently up for sale on Rightmove say otherwise.

[@Keithbarber]

@@mikep2099£2.25 off peak day return

[@ROCKINGMAN]

My great freind Michael Summers moved here in 1972. He had a penthouse flat in 21 Thomas More House. He told me that it was £15 weekly. It was later he had 'the right to buy'. He sold it in 1992. I still have the Barbican flat brochures. Excellent film.

[@MrAnadad]

ROCKINGMAN should have kept it is a shame

[@express777100]

just found out the fitter who trained me as a lift instalation engineer on m/scott don rosa, was the foreman site engineer for express lifts at the barbican. a great bloke.

[@Graphicxtras1]

Love visiting the Barbican for the music, art, theatre etc as well as the superb architecture. Fascinating video.

[@jon780249]

I lived in the Peabody estates a brief walk away from the Barbican and remember its opening. We much envied the accommodation. The center remains still one of the places I regularly visit when I go back to London, even if it now looks quite dated inside ( with its brown and orange colour scheme and brass colored rails ). It is one of the few serious experiments in modern social planning. It brought a whole range of culture within immediate reach, but it also had profound changes on the area, some good but some bad. The old market lost much of its vibrancy, as supermarkets moved in ( I think Sainsbury’s was the first) the character of the working class area changed dramatically.

[@lmusima3275]

I’ve been around the estate. It looks dated or even ancient now. It’s quite complex getting around from one end to another

[@ianhornby]

I wonder if the couple getting married are still alive, or even married! Coming up for their golden wedding in a year or two if they are!

[@elusiveworld]

That music gets me every time. So nostalgic

[@karlx19]

Just returned from photographing the Barbican - what a fab place!

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Karl Shaw looks bad

[@stowjer]

Fantastic video! Answered a lot of questions I had upon visiting for the first time yesterday. A truly different place juxtaposed with some of the oldest buildings in London. I will definitely return

[@Isleofskye]

I am a 66-year-old Londoner and one of my hobbies/pastimes was seeing as much of London as possible. Somehow I seem to have completely omitted to visit THe Barbican and I will rectify that very soon. I lived in S E London until 1983 and have since lived in the same house right on the border of London and Kent since...

[@huagrapo]

I wonder what the narrator would have to say about commercial greed were he around to see the state of things today...

[@benartee9493]

I've lived there twice. The moment I live in London again with the kids no longer needing a school I'll be back. I missed it the moment I moved out on each occasion and even currently living next to St Stephen cathedral in Vienna I miss the amenities.

[@classicartfoundation639]

Don't come back, it's a shit hole, over crowded dump

[@crose7412]

@@classicartfoundation639 City of London isn't overcrowded; it's barely populated at all residentially.

[@Isleofskye]

Have you returned yet Ben ?

[@Isleofskye]

I have just written on "London 1968" how extraordinarily lucky I have been to live in London for 66 fantastically stimulating years though I did move right to the edge of London in 1983 :)

[@benartee9493]

@@Isleofskye no, I have not. I have moved on to Germany, now living in a 1966 bungalow that’s like the case study houses in California. Given the current situation in the UK including the handling of the pandemic I don’t see myself settling permanently in the UK for a while. We do have a place in Kentish town where we stay when we are in London but 2020 seems to be the wrong year for any of that. Stay healthy!

[@stewartellinson8846]

I worked in the barbican for a few years. Lovely place to be. An amazining piece of architecture.

[@wasaent]

13:15 "Each generation left something of itself behind...Maybe the Barbican would be ours." This turned out to be true.

[@lmusima3275]

I wonder how much the rent was back then 😮

[@allfantasticimages]

Wonderful film, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Thanks for uploading.

[@StevieinSF]

"Is That the Mermaid?" The scenes of the prospective tenants were fabulous! As I've read up on the vast array of public housing around the world, the Barbican was targeted to the middle-class hence it maintained throughout the years. There's no public housing in the U.S. like that.

[@wanderingpots]

StevieinSF The Barbican was a mix of working class rented accomadation and privately owned. The City of London Estates, all of them are generally well managed, which goes to show it's all in the management.

[@Spectrescup]

Theres very little over here like the Barbican. Brunswick Square at a push.

[@martinseiffarth6408]

@@wanderingpots It was not. It was all rented housing for professionals let at commercial rents (i.e. 3x-4x as high as standard council rents and nearly double what you would have paid in a regular private block in Central London) by the Corporation.

[@wanderingpots]

Martin Seiffarth my friends dad got offered one by a housing cooperation when they were first built.

[@martinseiffarth6408]

@@wanderingpots Was it Barbican or Golden Lane? The latter was council housing, the former was exclusively for rental from the Corporation of London for the first few years - and quite strictly for 'middle-class professionals' working in the City. Restrictions were loosened a few years later, though rents nearly doubled as a result. See e.g. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0096144213479320

[@TheLandOfJonny]

This is amazing.... I love the Barbican.

[@hx0d]

The Barbican is a success story in architecture of this sort. It’s quite unique in the architects designed it to be self centred as expressed in the video. I regularly take myself walking here as I don’t live far from the estate, within a 10 min walking distance. Lockdown 1 through to 3 was fun here, very quiet and eery with the few locals dotted around made for an even greater sense of centered. I love the Barbican and wish I could actually live in it one day. I’ve heard that the flats are small but that’s central London, every flat here is including mine. Not sure what the comments are talking about, there are much more estates which are dingier, ridden with crime and dodgy and in terms of council estates this is a golden star.

[@haltendehand1]

Flats range from 250sqft to... 3000sqft townhouses. Really just a matter of how much you can afford - bit unfair to compare it with other council estates though, as the video shows it was very much targeted (and priced for...) the 'Geralds' of this world. No surprise it was well built, well maintained, etc

[@jneal21]

This is not a council estate it’s a private estate

[@hx0d]

@@jneal21 how is it not? It’s literally run and managed by a council...

[@haltendehand1]

@@hx0d Depends what you count as a 'council estate' I guess. The Mansion House is also, of course, a 'council house' - but most people imagine social housing when they hear that term. The Barbican was never that - unsubsidised 'luxury' flats built to high standards and rented at market prices.

[@jneal21]

@@hx0d The Barbican was never 'council housing' in the conventional sense, as flats were targeted at professionals and let at 'market' rents, i.e. for similar prices to equivalent private homes in Central London. Also most of them are now privately owned and are millions of pounds, not like a typical council estate I would suspect....

[@EliteXtasy]

12:52: hahaha, They were checking her out!

[@sobellfanatic]

Barbican is the best place to live in London; LOVE it!

[@lmusima3275]

Working in modern day Liverpool Street, I enjoy walking through Barbican looking at those now ancient buildings. Barbican looks different in 2022 with all the new buildings besides the old ones. I walk through that tunnel underneath the flats taking a straight road to Farringdon. The couple getting married, the bride 👰‍♂️ looked nice. Her wedding dress was elegant. This was over 50 years ago. I hope they’re still around and together

[@annie-francelaparre7234]

As a french traveller a long time ago, I followed the way from Barbican Center underground to St Paul. But it was so difficult to find one’ s way among all the buildings under construction, that I finally rent a native guide to comment the visit. I am discovering now the new buildings from the last videos. Nostalgia, Nostalgia...

[@chrisjohnson6876]

Great doco, never been there, but very insightful to an outsider

[@jamesomoz529]

This is a good piece of video content of regeneration of the Barbican back then late 1960s , times has changed now it’s 2023🙏🏿👍🏿😎😎✊🏿

[@howdan1985]

I love these wonderful films from the 60s and 70s although I'd much rather live in that beautiful "garden square" than the "Brutalist" concrete jungle of The Barbican!

[@awchilds7373]

Fantastic video. We're are luckily enough to be in the Barbican on a daily basis!

[@lenanona-p1x]

That you are! I’m American living in the U.S., but we have very close friends who have lived in Mountjoy House for years. We love visiting them there!

[@craignunnallypurcell]

“Great grandfather let commercial greed get the better of him”

[@gravijiga]

Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this :D Too bad they dont build things like this anymore

[@surreptitious6881]

Filmed at roughly the same time as the Beatles were crossing Abbey Road not too far away.

[@MrAnadad]

A place I grew up cannot get enough love it

[@Isleofskye]

Where are you now then, please, Ruslan ?

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

If I have some reservations about the Barbican, nevertheless, this is a glorious piece of film! Daniel.

[@jneal21]

Daniel in the Antipodes why, all it’s residents are wealthy

[@digbysirchickentf2315]

Those walkways made sense when they were full of mini-skirts, now they are abandoned...

[@dimitristsekeris1821]

Amateur architecture critics who say the Barbican is "ugly" simply haven't looked close enough.

[@Feuerbach99]

This is excellent. Is the bearded chap at 16:58-17:18 Simon Jones (Arthur Dent)?

[@mrr2880]

Worked in Roman House opposite the Barbican for years.. there was a Pub built into the Barbican complex on the corner of Wood Street, can't remember its name, then the Plough on the highwalk and another further down towards Moorgate end.. There was also a Korean restaurant that didn't do too well and Noto a Japanese one that was amazing..

[@PhilUKNet]

When I started working for IBM in Basinghall St in 1983 The Plough was where everyone went straight after work. It was always busy and a quick pint before going home often meant staying until closing time. I live abroad now and see that it closed in 2006. Sad to see how much has changed in the last 30 years. It's no use me missing England/London because what I miss from my past no longer exists.

[@mrr2880]

Crowders Well was the name of the pub built into the corner of Wood St / Fore St.. your post reminded me..

[@PhilUKNet]

@@mrr2880 I wouldn't have remembered that, but now you mentioned it that's a name I remember from the past. I've lived abroad for a long time, but so many pubs have now gone.

[@stucarpenter1427]

Good film about a great place!!

[@jacksugden8190]

I remember Barbican station before the development, it was many years later when I returned watching this, brought back the image, in 1987 worked opposite it, pleased that 1987 was now history.

[@hjp1hjp22]

Mad cyclist even in 1969. The Barbican tower blocks are some of London's tallest buildings. It is believed that a few famous people lived here including Michael Caine, and the Kray twins mother Violet after moving from Vallance Road, Bethnal Green.

[@Sidneyyoungblood75]

I knew she lived in Braithwaite House but just assumed it was somewhere in the east end. I did doubt you, so looked on the map and Braithwaite House is near (or part of) the Barbican. So thank you for putting me right 👍🏻

[@lmusima3275]

It was one of the top fancy places to live in at the time

[@Pinerocks]

I love the the Barbican have just taken up membership to encourage me to visit more often!

[@lndnflms484]

Lived there 73-84. It was alright, the underfloor heating, the waste disposal (garchey), the newness was good, but never really grew to love it. The brutalist style was too ugly, also at that time it was not only dead at weekends but during most of the week too.

[@MrAnadad]

D Rowley that’s the beauty living in the city but very quiet

[@prepperjonpnw6482]

You complain that it was “dead” on the weekends. Why didn’t you do something to liven it up? Quit relying on others to entertain you, you should take responsibility for your own life.

[@jamessomying]

Great video thanks.

[@honeymonster5589]

Very interesting my grandparents came from South Norwood, and great grandparents came from tooley Street near Tower Bridge

[@jaygriffiths6793]

A KZbin gem of a find. i saw this public information film in a cinema in 1971. How did it look then? Well, I'm sorry to puncture the fond nostalgia but just as pedestrian, patronising and plummy as it does now. Would I like to live in the Barbican? Too right! But the film? Dated in its own time. Doesn't matter though. Fun to see it again 50 years later.

[@geemonster9179]

I was born in this year and i have spent some time living in London and i left in 1989

[@DIYPanda1]

Occasionally work there and have a relative who lives in Barbican. Don't see the appeal at all. Miserable, dark, over crowded place.

[@robtyman4281]

London's population declined after 1939 due to WW2, and didn't get back to the 1939 level until a few years ago. Reaching a low point in 1990. Contrary to what everyone thinks about the 80's being the 'boom' decade, it was the 90's and 00's that saw its population go up steadily, and it equalling the 1939 level (8.7 million) just recently.

[@ajs41]

I think it was 1985 when London's population hit a low point.

[@prepperjonpnw6482]

Large cities around the world could take some lessons from this place. It would probably help them. Of course in most locations in the USA you would have to put up a large fence (electric) to keep the riff raff out.

[@colinturner4158]

We’ve got plenty of riff raff of our own

[@Bozkurt789]

AMAZING GREAT VIDEO. MAY THANKS

[@robbojax2025]

The shops on the high walk never worked. The Plough pub was always a success. Crossrail has led to changes which have improved the London Wall boundary. Generally still not a bad place.

[@savagesam205]

Great film!

[@RichardBurrows-j8r]

Thank you that was amazing

[@colinpumpernickel2605]

Weirdly they even manage to make the modern computer graphics at the very start look old fashioned

[@4ever242]

15:42 This part is absolutely best :D

[@robtyman4281]

I'm guessing this footage was taken on a Sunday as there is no one around. In those days shops weren't open on Sunday, so there was no reason for people to go into central London. It looks abit eerie to start off with..........like the first lockdown this year! The 'mournful' and melancholy soundtrack doesn't help things! - still it's very 'of the period'. I'm not sure if the Underground even ran on Sundays back then?? ...correct me if I'm wrong. I wasn't born until the 70's, so all this is before my time but fascinating nonetheless!

[@sabbieq]

The tube service ran on Sundays; perhaps a few more stations were closed on Sun. compared to now.

[@AgentPepsi1]

What happened to this area of London? Did it actually become a nice area to live? Is it one today?

[@ivanahavitoff7308]

use your internet and find out!

[@planetgilbo]

It's very expensive (even by London standards) and in demand amongst people who work in the city. Although all the raised walkways are a giant pain the neck. Theatres and stuff are all still there.

[@trainrover]

Bemusingly queer coz it has n o _de luxe_ appeal whatsoever :shudder:

[@paulone7042]

Day or night

[@hx0d]

@@planetgilbo I’ll be honest I live in Farringdon not far from the Barbican, and houses prices are as expensive as it. It’s a central London thing. It’s just really expensive, and such almost all my neighbours are renting

[@arsenal10141014]

Love this

[@lostghost101]

20:12 jesus cloud face

[@honeymonster5589]

I wonder was it asbestos city

[@Isleofskye]

Asbestos lies dormant for 40+ years in your system and then comes out....

[@johnobrien8398]

LONDON THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD IS NEVER SO PEACEFUL ANY MORE BUT THATS PROGRESS FOR YOU. THIS FILM BRINGS BACK GREAT MEMORIES THOUGH. FELLATIO

[@Dev1nci]

21:40 for as all British protestors once said,’We shall overco-ho-home.’

[@andreistoica2994]

For sure it left the mark of that generation

[@TheSunnyking121]

Tower blocks

[@trainrover]

Exactly..London being London, the Corporation missing the opportunity to drum up elegance of the likes of even - say - Le Château Champlain, Le Port-Royal, or the Plaza Tower bemuses me..oh well.

[@TheSwitchCleaner1978]

BRILLIANT

[@brendan5555]

who is it talking onver this?

[@l.s.11]

12:53 - dude gets lost in checking out the girl in the skirt, and slams into another gentleman x)

[@usedtothis3987]

Sample at 1:52

[@thomaswykes3647]

MK1 Triumph 2000

[@classic99900]

الترجمه من قوقل: لقد اصبحت سمين يجب ان اخفف وزني 😮

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Brutalist monstrocity.

[@zoesays3830]

@4:51 Dont see the likes of him anymore! Not too sure about missing hankerchiefs though. Blowing nose in one then storing it in pocket until the next blow and the next????

[@johnorourke6869]

An improvement on wiping your nose on your sleeve though. Generally you would use a fresh handkerchief every day.

[@zoesays3830]

@John O'Rourke From watching peeps in that era, I stand by my statement knowing what I witness with own eyes again and again. Agree nowadays with the throwaway culture this activity is now rare😉

[@TheLordHiggs]

Why did London look better then? As in I wonder what the crime percentage was? What east london was like back then 😆

[@tmarritt]

Crime was a lot higher, Lots of quite nasty gangs around. Dispute how it may feel london is a much safer place now.

[@edism]

How does London look better back then?

[@Isleofskye]

Please put in " London 1967" and see THe London peaceful, friendly, civilized Vibe then and make your comparison with today. I will, genuinely, be interested in what you think. Warning: You will see most people happy and smiling which is quite disconcerting :)

[@edism]

@@Isleofskye I was in Soho yesterday, the first thing that strikes me is there are far more overweight people there now.

[@Isleofskye]

I'm sure that is right Ed. Makes a mockery of so many obese people saying it's a medical condition and they are "Big-Boned". It's clearly a lifestyle choice with consequences...

[@peterm1826]

Tea Anyone 🧐

[@grahamjenkins1236]

The worst subtitles ever - errors in more than 50%. No mention of the architects - whether you like it or not, it was an enormous project.

[@scottwebb1978]

waste disposal 1969 blimey my council house kitchen was renovated in 2014 and no waste disposal was installed lol any road I've always had one its called the dustbin lol

[@russcooke5671]

The geezer near the end with the humongous beard. I thought he looked a bit noncey. It don’t look real I should not judge people on there apperence. He could be the local priest for all I know. 👌👌👌👌👌

[@jackiebayliss]

Ha ha ha Yes definitely a bit noncey. Gotta be the local priest.

[@ub22tanki]

@ 12:54

[@BeavKsam]

👍

[@rayesgoga280]

11:38

[@Truthseeker1515]

London was a horrid place to live in the 70s, it has not changed. Who would want to live in such ugly, concrete dominated estate, anyway? Plus that part of London is completely dead weekends. I mean really dead. Avoid.

[@classicartfoundation639]

Brilliant archive footage but the posh twatt voices of the narrator's drove me up the wall

[@NymphZoic68]

The artificial accent demanded of working class bootlickers who wished to work in TV / film

[@ajs41]

I prefer posh accents myself. I wish there were more of them on TV.

[@ajs41]

@@NymphZoic68 Why do you say artificial accent?

[@pault1964]

Unfortunately london is mostly not English

[@marksparkes1]

If your not bored by around 17 min, you'll love the flat viewers. Especially the dude with the beard. Hilarious and looks so fake

[@jonathansmith8556]

Utterly insufferable voiceovers

[@garylucas7050]

Worked there in the 80’s for BT hard to find your way in and hard to find your way out …a concrete jungle