Turin Street was originally known as ’Hope Town’.
John Gadenne, a carpenter from nearby Satchwell Rents, subleased houses in new streets: New Tyssen Street, Union Street (or Hope Town) and City Garden Place by 1808.
Union Street was extended north as Montague Street. The two streets were then combined as Turin Street.
Building conditions deteriorated by 1939 when the area was compulsorily purchased by Bethnal Green Borough. The Second World War then intervened.
The immediate issue after the war was to house those whose homes had been bombed though other objectives were to complete and extend earlier clearance programmes in order to reduce the population density.
Some 5000 people soon were living in temporary housing, including prefabs - the London County Council’s first prefabs in east London were in Florida Street and Squirries Street. All but 15 of its 190 prefabs were still in use in 1955.
War damage was repaired by 1953 and attention shifted to slum clearance - flats were to be allotted to those in cleared areas rather than by a waiting list.
A large scheme was in place for the so-called Turin Street site. Building began in 1945 on the Avebury estate, which opened with 208 dwellings in 1948.
