Plot is a long-term project, which explores the rise of The Plotland community, particularly those that resided in Laindon, Essex between 1900s and 1980s, and subsequent fall due to the designation of Basildon as a New Town in 1949.
"Up to 1945 'plotlanders' were able to make use of small patches of land not needed for agriculture, gradually building up weekend shacks into permanent residences, by using their own time and labour rather than large sums of money." Colin Ward - The hidden history of housing, 2004.
I have begun exploring previous known Plotland areas particularly sites which were never re-built on, after Basildon was designated as a New Town in 1949. I have come across a network of bricks and remnants embedded in the ground, most notably at Marks Hill, Victoria Park and Langdon Nature Reserve which lead into the Dunton Area. Remnants include entire boundary walls, wells, parts of a chimney breast and more sporadic layouts, perhaps from the original demolition.
Research Links
Hidden History of Housing by Colin Ward
The Passing of The Plotlands by Lawrence Barker
A last hurrah for plotlanders, Britain's interwar guerrilla housebuilders by Godfrey Holmes
Spatial Agency: Plotlands
The Haven and Plotlands by Jennifer Shirley
Dennis Hardy and Colin Ward, Arcadia for All. The Legacy of a Makeshift Landscape (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984).
