Copyright: Topham Picture Source.

The area to the east of the River Cray and south of the railway remained undevel-oped until after 1945.

It was therefore an ideal site for temporary housing for Londoners made homeless by wartime bombing. Prefabs were built, some still seen in the background, which remained until the 1960s when they were gradually replaced by permanent housing.

Mostly of the low-rise variety, Horton Tower was the exception, being a 14 story block comprising of 52 flats. It is shown here newly completed, in a photograph taken on 19th January 1968.