Living South magazine East Dulwich, Forest Hill, Crystal Palace, West Dulwich & Dulwich Village

Art and architecture

When sculptor Jeff Lowe visited a road in Forest Hill in search of a studio and home 13 years ago, its impact was less than inspirational.

A semi-derelict motorcycle repair workshop and a partly burnt out warehouse were among the more presentable properties on Havelock Walk, a little used cul de sac just a stone’s throw from Forest Hill station.

More than a decade on, these unloved buildings, which date back to a failed Victorian canal enterprise, have been transformed into unique homes and studios for more than 25 artists and make up the hub of the area’s artistic community.

"The street was horrible," Jeff says, "but it was clear that some of the buildings were already beautiful with high ceilings and the sort of spaces you simply couldn’t get anywhere else. It was somewhere affordable where artists could live and work."

Lewisham Council didn’t share Jeff’s optimism and rejected his application for a live/work dwelling. Undaunted, he moved in anyway and when council officers paid him a visit they were so impressed they reversed their decision and amended their planning rules to encourage other live/work developments, making Havelock Walk a conservation area.

"The council completely changed its tune, and has been very encouraging ever since," Jeff reports. "It meant that artists moving in could be confident of getting planning permission for their studios and homes."

Over the years Jeff has owned at least 14 properties in the mews street which he has sold on to other artists or lived and worked in himself. "These spaces are incredibly inspiring places to work. Havelock Walk is a real community – it is not just spaces where people work."

Later this month the artists hold their twice-yearly open studios event where paintings, sculptures, craft, jewellery, photography and ceramics will be on sale – plus there is the chance to look around the artists’ work spaces.

Abstract artist Pip Tunstill and her architect partner built their modern studio-cum-home from scratch five years ago after demolishing a concrete warehouse which formerly stood on the site. The couple were so certain that their contemporary plans would be rejected by planners that they had a more traditional design in reserve – which was never needed.

Pip, former course director at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where she still works part-time, explains: "We came here very early on a wet morning knowing nothing about the area. As we walked around a joiner in another building asked us if we wanted a cup of tea. We liked the feel of it straight away. The artists are very independent, but there is the opportunity, if you need it, to discuss your work with the others. We work in such different ways that it is not competitive, it is supportive."

When painter Elizabeth Chisholm moved into her dwelling in Havelock Walk eight years ago with her daughters Madeleine, now 17, and Georgiana, 15, her only electricity source was an extension lead from a neighbouring property. Her daughters couldn’t leave their bedroom without her help in negotiating a gaping stairwell and the first time a babysitter was booked he fled as soon as he saw their unconventional domestic set up.

"They adapted," says Elizabeth. "Luckily I have a pretty high tolerance for a not very beautiful existence." She installed gas, water and electricity, replaced windows and put in new stairs. Now her studio occupies the entire ground floor with the family’s living accommodation above.

"It is a great street – definitely a community," she says. "You can find that as an artist you live on the fringe and I wanted to connect. There has to be an engagement with the larger community, which we get here."

Jeff Lowe now lives in Number Six – one of the most distinctive buildings in Forest Hill. A three storey terracotta villa, which he calls "a fantasy kind of building", it took him two years to rebuild and is exotically adorned with balconies and palm trees. Using salvage he has created floors with wood from Lords Cricket Ground, balconies from a chateau in France and columns from Smithfield Market. Plans are now on the drawing board to create another live/work area for artists on the opposite side of Forest Hill station. "I like the process of doing these buildings," he says. "I primarily make sculpture but I always have a project on the go. I need that."

Painter Jeni Johnson moved to Havelock Walk two years ago with her husband. "We didn’t know anyone in London and suddenly found ourselves in this environment surrounded by other artists," she explains. "Because you know that everyone is making work it makes you want to work too – even in the times when you feel you could drop it all."

Photographers Lenka Rayn H and her husband Wayne Parker gutted their warehouse before creating a two bedroom living space and studio four years ago. Lenka says, "In eight years living in Muswell Hill we knew just one neighbour. Now it takes me 10 minutes to walk down the street because you end up talking to everybody. Being in this street is just so special, sometimes I think it is a bit like living on the set of a TV soap." She’s looking forward to the open studios event. "It is such a social weekend – it is exhausting but in a really uplifting way. Some people come for the art and others because they just want to see the space."

Visit Havelock Walk Open Studios 28-29 June; www.havelockwalk.com

VIEW THE HAVELOCK WALK GALLERY > > >