James Sinclair Point (Aug 93) in process of demolition.
James Sinclair Point was a 24 storey tower block completed in 1970 in London. Located in E13, on Rochester Avenue. Named after Councillor James Sinclair who was the member for the Ordnance Ward on the last West Ham Council, this block overlooked Queens Road Market in Newham, East London. The block contained 254 flats and was part of a major redevelopment by the council of Queens Market which began in 1967. The Block had an adjacent multi storey car park, and when completed was the largest residential block in Western Europe. Also present on the third floor of the car park was a large play deck with a community club.
The block achieved a high degree of notoriety for both social and design reasons. The kitchens of end flats cantilevered out of the ends of the block, and these were found to be sagging, which was leading to the possibilty that the wall could have fallen out. The north end was adjacent to the overground lines going into Upton Park tube. It was also claimed that as the building faced square onto the market, it created its' own 'wind trap' and that it could drive winds down the face of the building onto the market below.
There were vertical concrete fins running up the block. A simple fire in one flat, which under normal circumstances would have been extinguished by the fire brigade, travelled up between two of these fins and caused enormous damage on many floors. Due to structural issues James Sinclair Point was demolished in late 1993 by John F. Hunt Demolition Group.
In 1997 the Tolpuddle Avenue was built which is a development of houses around Tolpuddle Avenue to the rear of Queens Market.
James Sinclair Point in Popular Culture:[]
The building was featured prominently in the credits for the first series of the BBC sitcom ' In Sickness and in Health', in 1985.
James Sinclair Point in the opening credits of 'In Sickness and in Health'