Alistair Hardaker | Image: Geoffrey Marsh, George Underwood and Nicola Stacey outside 4 Plaistow Grove.
Bromley terrace where musician lived from age 8-20 to be restored to 1960s appearance with £500k foundation grant and public fundraising.
Heritage of London Trust has announced the acquisition of 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, the south London terrace where artist David Bowie (born David Robert Jones) lived from age 8 to 20 between.
The property is now to be restored to its original early 1960s appearance and is scheduled for completion in late 2027.
The railway workers’ cottage, described as a two up, two down property, served as the location where Bowie wrote his formative songs and later returned to write Space Oddity.
Bowie’s father commuted to work at charity Dr Barnado’s whilst his mother worked as a waitress during the family’s residence at the property.
The restoration project will work with curator Geoffrey Marsh, who co-curated the Victoria and Albert Museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition, and will utilise a previously unseen archive to recreate the interior layout exactly as it was during Bowie’s residence. The restoration will centre on Bowie’s 9ft by 10ft bedroom.
The project has secured a £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation, with a public fundraising campaign launching this month. Public support is hoped to allow for further restoration work, the curation of the house and programme development.
The site will host creative and skills workshops for young people through the Trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes. The house is located near the Edwardian bandstand where Bowie performed in 1969, which was restored by Bromley Council and Heritage of London Trust in 2024.
Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of Heritage of London Trust, said Bowie “was a proud Londoner” and “always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up”.
“It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site. We are thrilled to have already secured a major grant of £500,000 from the Jones Day Foundation towards the project, and hope that people everywhere will want to be involved.”
