How do you build thousands of new homes without losing the landscape that makes a place special? This guided walk through Dulwich’s remarkable post-war housing estates explores one of London’s most ambitious experiments in balancing growth, architecture and nature. More than sixty years on, these neighbourhoods continue to offer valuable lessons as London once again grapples with how to deliver new homes while creating places where people want to live.
When conversations turn to post-war housing, attention often focuses on London’s great estates in the inner city. Yet some of the capital’s most thoughtful and innovative neighbourhoods emerged in its leafy suburbs.
Between 1958 and 1970, the Dulwich Estate worked with Wates to build more than 2,000 homes across a series of carefully planned developments that responded to the area’s woodland, topography and existing character. Rather than imposing a single architectural solution, each estate explored a different approach to living with the landscape, creating homes that prioritised people over cars and demonstrated how higher-density neighbourhoods could still feel green, spacious and distinctly suburban.
As London faces renewed pressure to deliver new housing through the Draft London Plan and beyond, these estates offer an opportunity to look back at an earlier generation of city-building and ask what still feels relevant today.
Led by Dulwich resident and architectural historian Ian McInnes, former Chair of both the Twentieth Century Society and the Dulwich Society, this walk explores three of the area’s most significant developments: Peckarmans Wood, Great Brownings and Dulwich Wood Park.
Along the way, Ian will explain the design thinking behind each estate, showing how architects responded differently to wooded slopes, mature trees and changing ideas about suburban living. You’ll hear how these neighbourhoods drew inspiration from modernist planning while adapting those ideas to an English landscape, and why they remain among the country’s finest examples of post-war residential design. The tour will also include access to selected interiors, offering a rare opportunity to experience these homes from the inside.
Ian is co-author of Dulwich Mid-Century Oasis (2021), the definitive study of this remarkable chapter in London’s architectural history.
Whether you are interested in architecture, housing, landscape design or simply discovering another side of London, this tour offers a fascinating opportunity to explore one of the capital’s most overlooked modern neighbourhoods.
Join us to discover why these “Wates in the Woods” developments remain an enduring example of how thoughtful design can create homes that work with, rather than against, the landscape. Members receive discounted tickets and help support The London Society’s programme of talks, tours and civic debate.
Practical Information
Meeting point: Sydenham Hill Station, College Road exit (direct trains from London Victoria approximately every 15 minutes).
Please note: this walk includes a number of steep hills, flights of steps and natural woodland paths. Participants should wear suitable footwear and be comfortable walking over uneven ground.