In 1931, when Indian civil rights hero Mahatma Gandhi visited England, he was offered a suite at the Savoy. Instead, he opted to stay in the East End, and visit the Becontree estate – Britain’s first council estate, built for the working-class heroes of World War I.
An experiment in modern living, this was the start of a new vision for families who had spent generations in the slums. Gandhi found it inspirational.
“Love surrounded me here,” he wrote in the visitors’ book at Kingsley Hall, the church and community centre which hosted his visit.
