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Carlton Mansions co-op, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton - history and news

I did these several weeks ago - and the majority are of view FROM the Carlton Mansions roof top - which I found alarmingly high. The views up there are very good, hopefully some of these might give some indication.

First the internals:
View from back garden, looking up at the building
Mansions looking up from back garden.jpg

A wrens nest in the passage
Wrens nest.jpg

My view of the roof of Carlton Mansions
Mansions roof.jpg

View from CM roof down Coldharbour lane towards McDonalds
Coldharbour Lane to McDonalds.jpg

Lambeth Town Hall clock tower over the "Metroland" Vining Street development roofs. This must be the ugliest urban design in Brixton, notwithstanding Brixton Square.
Town Hall over Metroland.jpg

Connaught Mansions roof terrace - a communal "solution" somewhat more sociable that the latest "Juliet Balconies" favoured in Brixton Square and Oval Quarter.
Connaught roof terrace.jpg

Walton Lodge Laundry and Brixton Square seen from Carlton Mansions roof
Laundry and Brixton Square.jpg

Brixton Rec, International House and a crane at "The Junction" from CM roof
Brixton Rec-Intnl House-Junction crane.jpg

Another view of Brixton Square, the laundry, International House and the top of Granville Arcade/Brixton Village
Looking over Nu Brixton & laundry from roof.jpg

The Villaage
front of villaage.jpg

Many thanks to Gramsci for inviting me to have a look.
I reckon it would be good to have a pro in there to document things inside - like the flats. Carlton Mansions really is a period piece and I can't see how Lambeth think they are doing anyone a favour by removing the residents and turning the building into some sort of light industrial/training scheme.
 
editor said:
Have you got enough pics for a B Buzz feature?
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Think so. I took around 20 shots last weekend. I will try and upload some more.

Would welcome some advice on image size. I have a nikon D800 and the image files are very large (individual photos are 65 x 40 cm, around 30 megapixels). I reduced the image size in Photoshop but was still getting warning messages (file size too large) when I tried to load onto U75. Even tried the Save for Web command in Photoshop (which reduces to 72 pip) but still having problems

Would be good if you could let me know what the maximum image size is for uploading onto U75.
my camera.

Thanks
 
High Definition said:
Think so. I took around 20 shots last weekend. I will try and upload some more.

Would welcome some advice on image size. I have a nikon D800 and the image files are very large (individual photos are 65 x 40 cm, around 30 megapixels). I reduced the image size in Photoshop but was still getting warning messages (file size too large) when I tried to load onto U75. Even tried the Save for Web command in Photoshop (which reduces to 72 pip) but still having problems

Would be good if you could let me know what the maximum image size is for uploading onto U75.
my camera.

Thanks
Click to expand...
For Brixton buzz, they need to be 620 pixels wide. Cheers!
 
High Definition said:
Okay, that's useful. Should be able to process and post the files tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I've made a selection of 16 of the shots I took last weekend. These are mostly internal shots, as CH1 has already posted images of the local area taken from the roof. Just had a message that I can only upload 10 files at a time. Will load this for now and upload the other 6 in a few minutes. HD

_8001126.jpg 132603_2290.jpg _8001112.jpg _8001105.jpg _8001107.jpg _8001118.jpg _8001106.jpg _8001109.jpg _8001127.jpg_8001125.jpg
 
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_8001113.jpg _8001114.jpg _8001121.jpg _8001117.jpg _8001124.jpg _8001114.jpg _8001121.jpg _8001117.jpg _8001124.jpg
High Definition said:
I've made a selection of 16 of the shots I took last weekend. These are mostly internal shots, as CH1 has already posted images of the local area taken from the roof. Just had a message that I can only upload 10 files at a time. Will load this for now and upload the other 6 in a few minutes. HD

View attachment 58788 View attachment 58789 View attachment 58791 View attachment 58790 View attachment 58792 View attachment 58793 View attachment 58784View attachment 58785
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Here are the other 5 images.
 
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Ex Coop member emailed me this. She was listening to BBC London with Will Self. He mentions the Mansions as one of his favourites and one of great beauty. She emailed in to the programme and her email was read it. Will did give his view. Its still online to listen. My computer will not do it.

Link here. She said its in first hour of programme.
 
Next thing is the "Cooperative" Council has issued a Notice of Eviction for the 30th September.

People have gone or in process and I was trying to do handover to Council in a civilized way.Thats not how the Council do things. They persist in being confrontational. Its not me that started this.

I have been doing my best to keep the Mansions secure and also last week gave access to Council surveyors for the Somerleyton Road project access to the Mansions.

However I try to seek accommodation with Council they insist on wanting to show who is boss.
 
Sorry they have treated you so shoddily, Gramsci. It's a lovely building. Looking at the photos I miss visiting there. Shame they don't have the same respect for you as you have had for the building. I hope you're sorted out with accommodation soon.
 
To add the lead officer on Somerleyton road project is not to be blamed for what has happened to us. Always listened to ordinary people and tried his best. Officers like him are a minority in the "Cooperative Council."

Nor are my Ward Cllrs to blame. They have done their best to help.

The decision to get rid of us came from the top. Lambeth the "Cooperative Council" is in reality run top down. Anyone lower down the food chain who says anything about the leaderships decisions is liable to be disciplined.

Cllr Lib Peck the leader and ex Cllr Pete Robbins who was Cabinet member for housing and regeneration at the time are the ones I blame.

Also Sue Foster OBE, one of the head people in Regeneration also wrote to my MP naming me personally as a problem. She is on about £150 000 a year. I am sick of having to deal with these people. The word she used in her letter to Tessa to refer to Coop members was that were "intransigent". If defending your community gets you singled out by the likes of people like her its a compliment.
 
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quimcunx said:
Sorry they have treated you so shoddily, Gramsci. It's a lovely building. Looking at the photos I miss visiting there. Shame they don't have the same respect for you as you have had for the building. I hope you're sorted out with accommodation soon.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Much appreciated. They are sorting out accomodation. Not for all though. Which is still issue in one case.

I am concerned about what will happen to Mansions. What I was doing was trying to talking to the reasonable officer about how to preserve and secure the Mansions whilst its empty. Really concerned it could deteriorate quickly if empty and also be vandalised. I was offering to work with officer to check on Mansions regularly. I know the maintenance issues with the Mansions. The Council do not have a clue how to do this imo.

Nor do I want the Council wreckers to come in and trash the place then board it up.

I have not posted much up recently as its been difficult time. To the end the Coop, depleted as it is now , has not ended in chaos. We have kept the Mansions secure.
 
Gramsci said:
This old stone head in courtyard is thought to come from St Agnes place. Was thinking of donating it to Ovalhouse as they may incorporate it into their new theatre. I do not want Council vandals just chucking this in skip.

OvalhouseDB


scaled_full_a2189605eab1c703059e.JPG
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This fine stone now installed in a foster home at Ovalhouse, to be brought back to Brixton in due course.
 
If anyone has any historical information about these stones - there are two, matching - and can verify whether they came from St Agnes Place, or has any other information, it would be helpful. It would be nice to be able to tell their story. I have just been looking at pictures of St Agnes place and to my inexpert eye they don't look typical of the Victorian terrace house architecture? So maybe someone took them to St Agnes Place from elsewhere?
 
OvalhouseDB said:
If anyone has any historical information about these stones - there are two, matching - and can verify whether they came from St Agnes Place, or has any other information, it would be helpful. It would be nice to be able to tell their story. I have just been looking at pictures of St Agnes place and to my inexpert eye they don't look typical of the Victorian terrace house architecture? So maybe someone took them to St Agnes Place from elsewhere?
Click to expand...
iirc st Agnes place was constructed to house servants who worked in royal palaces so the architecture may have reflected this....
 
Article by Zoe in Brixton Blog

I am still trying to sort out a way to do a civilized handover on Tuesday.

Still not sure how its going to go at the moment. As one section of the Council is insisting on being confrontational about this.
 
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Matthew Bennett seems needlessly harsh in his press statement. Its too bad we have a council where frequently council officers and councillors are defensive and inhumane rather than open and trusting.
 
OvalhouseDB said:
If anyone has any historical information about these stones - there are two, matching - and can verify whether they came from St Agnes Place, or has any other information, it would be helpful. It would be nice to be able to tell their story. I have just been looking at pictures of St Agnes place and to my inexpert eye they don't look typical of the Victorian terrace house architecture? So maybe someone took them to St Agnes Place from elsewhere?
Click to expand...
The gargoyles were a prominent feature of that street. From memory they featured marginally in the court/planning battle when the council sent in a wrecking ball in the 70s.

I'm surprised at how few photos the web seems to have, but there's a couple in this rather fine flickr set.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44938436@N02/4131958896/in/photostream/

best wishes Gramsci
 
Dan U said:
yeah all the best to Gramsci and co

what a beautiful building, really interesting to see inside editor, although it looks a bit chilly! such a shame it couldn't be (if the people who lived there wanted it, of course) modernised and they got given secure tenancies.
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Yes. This is what should have happened with all the short-life places, rather than the short-term sell-off.
 
Sorry to hear this has finally happened Gramsci. Hope you are properly looked after and thanks for showing me around earlier this year. I hope this goes down in history to show the greater population just how corrupt, hypocritical and selfish Lambeth have become. There are some individuals within that council that really need to be brought to account.
 
Thanks to editor for the photos. We went around the flats this morning as I was handing over the Mansions to the Council.

The photos capture the spirit of the Mansions on its last day. Its sad to see the Mansions on its own without people. Its housed people for over a hundred years.

The Eds photos show how some of its features are still there after all these years.
 
Thanks for everyone's kind posts.

I stayed at Mansions last night. It was eerily quiet as it was just me.

Council turned up in morning as arranged to do handover. I had keys to flats.

I did want to show that until the end we controlled the Mansions. It has been getting emptier over last few months but we have kept the Mansions secure.

I did not want it to end in chaos. The Mansions was handed back to Council in one piece. The Coop has left with dignity.

Only problem was when the bailiffs arrived whilst we were in process of handover. I said I was not going to go around with them. They can wait until I handed Mansions back to Council officers. Took a while but they backed off. Bailiffs really attract tossers to do that job.
 
Gramsci said:
Thanks for everyone's kind posts.

I stayed at Mansions last night. It was eerily quiet as it was just me.

Council turned up in morning as arranged to do handover. I had keys to flats.

I did want to show that until the end we controlled the Mansions. It has been getting emptier over last few months but we have kept the Mansions secure.

I did not want it to end in chaos. The Mansions was handed back to Council in one piece. The Coop has left with dignity.

Only problem was when the bailiffs arrived whilst we were in process of handover. I said I was not going to go around with them. They can wait until I handed Mansions back to Council officers. Took a while but they backed off. Bailiffs really attract tossers to do that job.
Click to expand...

respect due gramsci, dignity is short supply in these money grabbing times.
 
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