From Plaistow Grove to the stars: David Bowie’s childhood home to open to the public

David Bowie’s childhood home in south-east London, where he spent his formative years and wrote Space Oddity, is to open to the public as an immersive cultural space, marking a significant moment in the preservation of the artist’s London legacy.

The modest house at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, where Bowie lived from the age of eight until he was 20, has been acquired by the Heritage of London Trust. Plans are under way to restore the property to its early 1960s appearance, drawing on newly uncovered archival material that will allow curators to recreate the layout and atmosphere of the home as it was during Bowie’s adolescence.

Geoffrey Marsh, co-curator of the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition, described the house as the place where Bowie made the transition from “an ordinary suburban schoolboy” to a figure who would reshape popular music. Quoting Bowie himself, Marsh recalled how much time the young musician spent upstairs in his bedroom. “It really was my entire world,” Bowie once said, describing the room where he read, listened to records and imagined the life that lay beyond the street outside.

The project is being supported by a £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation, alongside a public fundraising campaign launching this month. Organisers say the aim is not simply to preserve a building, but to create a space that reflects Bowie’s early curiosity and experimentation.

Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, said the acquisition spoke directly to Bowie’s sense of place. “David Bowie was a proud Londoner,” she said. “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.”

The announcement comes on what would have been Bowie’s birthday, 8 January, and just days before the tenth anniversary of his death on 10 January. It also coincides with a decade since the release of Blackstar, the final album that now stands as one of the most closely studied works in his catalogue.

George Underwood, Bowie’s lifelong friend and former bandmate, said the house captured the beginnings of something that later resonated far beyond Bromley. “We were dreamers,” he said. “It’s amazing that so much music that meant so much to so many people started here, from such small beginnings.”

The trust says the house will host creative workshops linked to its Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes, positioning the site as a working cultural space rather than a static memorial. It sits close to the restored Bowie bandstand, where Bowie performed in 1969, reinforcing the area’s place in his early story.

No opening date has yet been announced, but further details about the project and the wider work of the trust are expected as plans progress, with background on the organisation available through its work preserving London’s cultural sites at the Heritage of London Trust.

For more stories exploring London’s cultural heritage and the people who shaped it, follow EyeOnLondon for thoughtful and independent storytelling.

Follow us on:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest videos and updates!

We value your thoughts! Share your feedback and help us make EyeOnLondon even better!