Becoming Neighbours

Becoming Neighbours is a project that delved into Pembroke House’s rich history and legacy of Residency. Taking place during the organisation’s 140th year anniversary from June 2025 to June 2026, it served as a timely opportunity for critical reflection and celebration of the connections, experiences and stories that were created through this unique approach to neighbourhood living. 

We have reconnected with the residential volunteers who lived at Pembroke House, and the local Walworth residents who they built relationships with over the years. Our aims were to collectively weave an oral history that propels us to imagine what a new model of neighbourhood housing could look like– one that genuinely reflects and responds to the changes that Walworth has gone through in the last century and a half.

We wanted this process to be community-led, so that the future Residency is informed by the ideas, perspectives and goals of Walworth residents. We have worked with community researchers to unearth and gather stories from previous residential volunteers, and to create a wider, connected community in the process. We have also hosted conversations over dinner with people who live locally and discussed the Residency and what it could be for the local community. This has opened up interesting and insightful conversations about the purpose of the Residency and its future.

Becoming Neighbours was an opportunity to celebrate and shake up our history.  Through honest and open conversations about the experience of Residency, we aimed to open up the question of what it means to live in more intentional communities and collectively tackle the root causes of the issues in our community. 

We have shared our journey through public sharing events, blogs exploring the history of settlements, and exhibition displays.

Here is the link to our project website if you are wanting to read more about the project and our findings.

Here is the link to the publication which pulls together the key themes from the project and also thinks about living n community in general.

Listen below for a snippet of some former Residents speaking about their first impressions of Pembroke House.