The estate
Choose a block to see its history, flats and photographs.
Choose a block on the map or from the list below.
Cromwell Tower
Cromwell's only link to the Barbican is a wedding at the local church in 1620.
Lauderdale Tower
It stands where the Scottish earls of Lauderdale once kept their London house.
Shakespeare Tower
For years it was the highest block of flats in Europe.
Andrewes House
Its garden flats are the only ones on the estate with their own gardens.
Ben Jonson House
It is the longest block on the estate, and it steps right over Golden Lane.
Breton House
Nearly all its flats are studios, topped by a row of penthouse maisonettes.
Defoe House
Daniel Foe was born in this parish and added the "De" to his name himself.
Gilbert House
It stands on tall stilts in the lake, with a bridge running underneath.
Mountjoy House
Its columns are unusually tall, and the whole block floats above Mountjoy Close.
Seddon House
George Seddon turned a house on Aldersgate Street into England's first big furniture store.
Speed House
It was the first Barbican block to be built.
Thomas More House
Its garden flats face the largest garden on the estate.
Willoughby House
Its flats are rarely identical, and most are maisonettes that go up and over.
Bryer Court
It is the narrowest block on the estate.
Bunyan Court
Most of its flats are two-storey maisonettes laid out on a scissor plan.
John Trundle Court
Trundle published a pirate edition of Hamlet in 1603.
Frobisher Crescent
It was built as flats, spent years as offices, and became flats again in 2010.
Brandon Mews
These small houses sit below the podium, right beside the waterfall that drops into the lake.
Lambert Jones Mews
These are the only homes on the estate with back doors that open straight onto a garden.
The Postern
Its front doors open onto a covered bridge, and the houses look over St Giles church.
Wallside
It is the only part of the estate where the homes face outward to the street.