Though a cause later taken up by the more successful Artisans, Labourers and General Dwellings Company, the Suburban Village and Dwellings Company (SVDC) was a philanthropic venture to attempt workers’ housing in a high-quality and thought-our design style. The purpose of the Suburban Village and General Dwellings Company was “to provide at the most rapid rate possible, healthy, pleasant, and comfortable abodes, for the over-crowded population of the metropolis. The company will purchase estates in all the suburbs near to and having direct railway connexion with London, and erect thereon complete villages.” The SVDC built Milkwood Road, Brixton in 1868.
Until the middle of the 17th century this area was woodland though the trees were uprooted during the Commonwealth. In 1711 a lease was granted to William East of the Middle Temple, whose descendants continued as tenants until 1837. The lease was surrendered to Rice Richard Clayton but when that expired in 1865, the whole neighbourhood had started to be transformed by the construction of railways.
Money was subscribed to the SVDC by 250 working men in hopes of obtaining houses. Though the SVDC fell on hard times, W.G. Habershon, a partner in the firm of architects, Habershon and Pite, offered to take over the estate for its original purpose. In 1868 he and his partner, A. R. Pite, reached an agreement with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. They received a 99 year lease of 24 acres, and built roads and sewers and between 480 and 650 houses. The first stone was laid on 30 March 1869, by Lord Shaftesbury. The two main streets were Milkwood Road and Lowden Road. Houses could be purchased by a lump sum payment, or by instalments spread over 21 years.
Builders were attracted by the proximity of the estate to the new railway lines, while purchasers were attracted by the cheap workmen’s fares which the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company provided.
