Terry Gourvish

Terence Richard Gourvish

"Dolphin Square - the large, imposing red brick building on the North bank of the Thames - was and is no ordinary block of flats. Created for MPs, peers and entertainers required to work in London, the Square was built on a massive scale to a high density in the mid-1930s. It was a pioneering example of concrete design, and when built was the largest single residential building in Europe. This book tells the story of the project and captures what it has been like to live in the square for figures including Sir Menzies Campbell, Alistair Darling, William Hague, Mo Mowlam, Sir David Steel, Christine Keeler, Sid James, Barbara Windsor and Princess Anne. Beginning with the antecedents of the seven-acre site, the book charts the square's changing ownership and eventual creation of the Dolphin Square Trust, which managed the flats on a non profit-making basis for 40 years. Its unique blend of quasi-charitable purpose and commercial management enabled long-standing tenants to enjoy below-market rentals before the Trust came under immense pressure to realise the value of the existing leases and sell them off in 2006 ... provide[s] a detailed examination of a major example of urban property speculation and management"--Publisher's description.

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