B/W print; the Becontree Estate in Dagenham, Aerofilms, 1930-1950

Affordable housing for Londoners has been a problem throughout the 20th century. The 1919 Housing Act had given London County Council the power to begin a massive housing scheme. Included in this was the Becontree estate in Dagenham, built between the 1920s and 30s. It was the destination for many Londoners displaced by the East End slum clearances of the 1930s. This aerial photo shows the estate after it was completed. At the time it was the largest municipal estate in the world. The estate provided homes for many of the workers in the nearby motor factory. The factory was originally opened as Briggs Bodies, manufacturing automobile bodies. It was reorganised in 1931 to produce Ford Cars. At the top of the picture, running left to right, is the former Great Eastern Railway mainline track.