Memories of a demolished Hoxton estate

Longbow House was built in 1929 as part of the London County Council's Whitmore Estate, situated to the west of Kingsland Road. It was one of a number of inner-city estates built in the years after the First World War. Many had the same five-storey, red brick design.

Longbow House was set to be demolished in March 2003 as part of the redevelopment of Hoxton. Donald photographed the block’s residents, like this mother and toddler, during the three years before their homes were pulled down.

Almost all the residents gave permission for Donald to take their photographs. “They were sentimentally attached to the old building, so they were up for having their pictures taken," he told the Guardian. They were rehoused locally in new or refurbished houses and flats.

Michael Donald told the Guardian: “For the most part, they are happy with their new homes. If they were going to be scattered to the winds, the whole atmosphere would have been different, and the project would have been difficult for me to do."

Some of the photographs show residents looking pensively into the camera or out of frame. We don’t get to hear from the residents themselves about their feelings towards being moved.

Many of Donald’s photographs can be paired together. Here, one resident sits in his living room before moving out. In another photograph of the same room, the man, and his possessions, are gone.

After residents had moved out, the demolition company gave Donald access to the empty flats before they were torn down. In these photographs, you can see hints of lives lived in the leftover furniture or marks on the walls.

In 2003, the building was razed to the ground. Donald documents the demolition process. Walls are half torn down. Rubble and wiring are scattered across the site. His photographs were exhibited on the estate soon after it was knocked down.