Hi Andy,
Following your post and pictures of Mary Ann's Buildings, I
thought I would share a photo I found of my Mum — mid-50s, I think — standing
in front of the date shown in the second picture down on your post. You can see
the sign above the gate in both pictures. Happy for the photo to be shared!
Best regards
Kevin
 |
| Kevins Mum. |
Here is an indepth History of Mary Ann Buildings. Theres a link below to the original post.
Mary Ann Buildings, Deptford: The Lost Street Behind St Paul’s
Nestled in the historic heart of Deptford, just behind St Paul’s Church and between Albury Street and Deptford High Street, lies a small cul-de-sac known today as Mary Ann Gardens. To the casual passer-by, this quiet residential corner may seem unremarkable, but its name preserves the memory of an earlier landscape — Mary Ann Buildings, a once-vibrant pocket of working-class housing that tells a story of London’s shifting urban fortunes.
A Georgian Neighbourhood Grows
The area around what became Mary Ann Gardens developed rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Deptford — then a bustling riverside town — was home to dockyards, chandlers, shipwrights and labourers. Streets like Union Street (now Albury Street) and Queen Street (now Lamerton Street) were laid out as part of a growing suburb that served the nearby Royal Dockyard and the Thames shipping trade.
Within this grid of narrow streets appeared Mary Ann Buildings, a modest terrace of small workers’ cottages. Their name followed a common convention of the period, when new speculative developments were often given genteel or personal names to distinguish them — perhaps after a family member or the developer’s wife, “Mary Ann.”
Life in Mary Ann Buildings
By the mid-19th century, census records and social surveys depicted Mary Ann Buildings as densely populated but industrious. Small trades flourished here — costermongers, labourers, and dock workers shared the cramped houses. According to social historians, the area was “well known for housing slaughterhouse girls,” referring to the women employed in the local meat trades that surrounded the market and High Street.
Like much of Deptford, the street reflected both the hardship and vitality of working-class London. Children played in courtyards while residents fetched water from shared pumps. St Paul’s Church — a short walk away — offered a spiritual centre amidst the noise of the High Street and the docks.
Decline and Clearance
By the early 20th century, conditions in parts of Deptford had deteriorated. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and industrial decline left many of the older houses in disrepair. Urban reformers and local councils began to clear entire streets to make way for new housing schemes.
The Deptford High Street and St Paul’s Conservation Area Appraisal notes that Mary Ann Buildings, along with the southern terrace of nearby Albury Street, was cleared in the 20th century. The replacement was a low-rise post-war development, consistent with the planning ideals of the 1950s and 1960s, which sought open space, greenery, and light in contrast to the dense terraces they replaced.
Mary Ann Gardens Today
Today’s Mary Ann Gardens occupies roughly the same footprint as the former Buildings. The cul-de-sac comprises modest, mixed-tenure housing — low-rise flats and houses surrounded by mature trees. From the street, one can still sense the layered history of the area: Albury Street’s ornate Georgian doorcases stand a few steps away, and the spire of St Paul’s Church dominates the skyline, linking past and present.
Modern property data suggests that most of the current housing dates from around 1970, though the site retains fragments of earlier boundary lines visible on historic Ordnance Survey maps. It is a quiet corner, but one deeply rooted in Deptford’s working-class heritage.
Remembering the Lost Streets
Mary Ann Buildings may no longer exist in name, but its memory endures in the maps, archives, and oral histories of Deptford. It represents a familiar London story — of industrial growth, social struggle, and urban renewal.
In the words of one local historian, “to walk through Mary Ann Gardens is to tread on the ghost lines of the city’s hidden lives.” The surviving name on the street sign stands as a small but enduring tribute to the people who once made their homes in the shadow of the docks, shaping a neighbourhood that still bears their mark.
References & Further Reading
Lewisham Council. Deptford High Street and St Paul’s Church Conservation Area Appraisal (2021).
The City Within the City — Urban History dissertation, University of Central Lancashire (2019).
Layers of London historic maps (Rocque, Greenwood, OS 1870 editions).
Streetlist.co.uk — “Mary Ann Gardens SE8: Street and Property Data.”
Old Deptford History blog (archival posts and photographic comparisons).
About the Author
By Andy
Andy is a historian and writer with a focus on South East London’s urban and social history. Their research explores the transformation of neighbourhoods like Deptford, Greenwich, and Bermondsey — tracing how working-class communities, architecture, and industry shaped London’s modern identity.
