restoring david bowie’s childhood home for public access
David Bowie’s childhood home at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, South London, is set to be restored and opened to the public by late 2027. After the V&A East Storehouse David Bowie Centre opening (find designboom’s previous coverage here), the modest terraced house, where Bowie lived from the ages of 8 to 20 (1955–1967), will be transformed into a public heritage site and creative hub for young people, offering workshops focused on artistic skills, confidence-building, and self-expression. Announced by Heritage of London Trust, the project reframes the house as a space for nurturing the same curiosity and experimentation that once shaped the artist’s early life.
Curator Geoffrey Marsh, co-curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition, is collaborating on the restoration. ‘It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom – as he said ”I spent so much time in my bedroom. It really was my entire world. I had books up there, my music up there, my record player. Going from my world upstairs out onto the street, I had to pass through this no-man’s-land of the living room,”’ he shares, reflecting on the significance of the site.
Plaistow G from M&Ds Window | all images courtesy of Bowie’s House
transforming the house into a creative hub for young people
Beyond preservation, the house is envisioned as a working space for contemporary creative life. Inspired by Bowie’s 1969 Beckenham Arts Lab, a short-lived but influential community art initiative that offered opportunities ‘for everybody’, the site will host workshops for young people through the Trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programs. These sessions will focus on creative practice, communication, and confidence-building, positioning the house as an educational platform rather than a static museum.
Dr. Nicola Stacey, Director of Heritage of London Trust, emphasized the importance of this approach: ‘David Bowie was a proud Londoner. Even though his career took him all over the world, he always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site.’ The project has already secured a £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation, with a public fundraising campaign launching this month.
David & cat c.1956
personal memories, local landmarks, and cultural legacy
For those who knew Bowie personally, the house carries emotional weight. His lifelong friend George Underwood reflected: ‘We spent so much time together, listening to and playing music. I’ve heard a lot of people say David’s music saved them or changed their life. It’s amazing that he could do that and even more amazing that it all started here, from such small beginnings, in this house. We were dreamers, and look what he became.’ Journalist and author Caitlin Moran echoed this intimacy, describing the teenage bedroom as ‘the cocoon where they built themselves,’ adding that ‘the chance for us all to walk through a newly-opened door, and see the suburban launch-pad from which David Bowie almost literally took off into space is beyond thrilling.’
Located near the Edwardian bandstand where Bowie performed in 1969, restored by Bromley Council and Heritage of London Trust in 2024, the house becomes part of a broader network of local memory. Once completed, the site will offer visitors a rare look into the everyday domestic environment that shaped one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, while also serving as a working space for the next generation of creative voices. Fundraising begins in January 2026, with the opening scheduled for the end of 2027.
David Bowie outside on bench
David Bowie’s childhood home at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, South London
the modest terraced house will be transformed into a public heritage site and creative hub
envisioned as a working space for contemporary creative life
inspired by Bowie’s 1969 Beckenham Arts Lab
the site will host workshops for young people through the Trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programs
blue plaque on the facade of the residence
Geoffrey Marsh, George Underwood and Nicola Stacey
Mrs Jones
David Bowie body building
Teenage DJ & Car A
project info:
name: David Bowie’s house Restoration
location: 4 Plaistow Grove, Bromley, South London, UK
client / organizer: Heritage of London Trust
collaborator: Geoffrey Marsh
program: Public Heritage Site + Creative and Skills Workshops for Young People
expected completion: Late 2027
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