Ten years on from David Bowie’s death, a new heritage project for his family home in Bromley has been unveiled.
Heritage Of London Trust announced the plans as the music icon was set to return to the Top 100 singles chart with “Heroes”, following the song’s placement in the finale of Stranger Things.
Amid the renewed interest in Bowie’s catalogue around the anniversary of his passing (January 10, 2016) and his birthday (January 8, 1947), the Legacy collection (Rhino) is on course for its highest chart placing in four years this week and pushing for the Top 30.
Bowie’s final album Blackstar was also released 10 years ago today. Meanwhile, Channel 4 has screened a new documentary, David Bowie – The Final Act, while BBC Radio 6 Music has also been marking the anniversary.
Heritage Of London Trust has announced the acquisition of the family home of David Robert Jones, the modest South London terrace at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley. The property served as Bowie’s “creative sanctuary” from ages eight to 20 (1955–1967).
“The property marks the site where Bowie’s musical journey began; it was here that he wrote his formative songs and regularly returned in the following years, as he wrote his breakthrough smash hit Space Oddity, which rocketed him to pop fame,” said a statement.
The heritage project, due for completion in late 2027, will restore the house to its original early 1960s appearance. Working alongside curator Geoffrey Marsh (co-curator of the Victoria & Albert museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition) and utilising a never-before-seen archive, the restoration will recreate the interior layout exactly as it was when Bowie was a child and young man. The immersive experience will centre on Bowie’s bedroom.
The young David Bowie outside the house (credit: David Bowie Estate)
Inspired by his 1969 Beckenham Arts Lab, the site will host creative and skills workshops for young people. Through the Trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes, the house will act as a "solid foundation for the next generation," teaching confidence and communication skills in the arts.
A major £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation, a charitable foundation funded by attorneys and staff of the Jones Day law firm, has already been secured to anchor the restoration, with a public fundraising campaign launching this month.
The house is near the Edwardian ‘Bowie bandstand’ – where the young musician performed in 1969 – which was restored by Bromley Council and Heritage of London Trust in 2024.
David Bowie and family cat circa 1956 (credit: David Bowie Estate)
Geoffrey Marsh said: “It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom – as he said ‘I spent so much time in my bedroom. It really was my entire world. I had books up there, my music up there, my record player. Going from my world upstairs out onto the street, I had to pass through this no-man's-land of the living room.’”
Dr Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, said: “David Bowie was a proud Londoner. 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. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site. We are thrilled to have already secured a major grant of £500,000 from the Jones Day Foundation towards the project, and hope that people everywhere will want to be involved.”
Teenage David Bowie (credit: David Bowie Estate)
George Underwood, artist, musician and David Bowie's lifelong friend, said: “We spent so much time together, listening to and playing music. I’ve heard a lot of people say David’s music saved them or changed their life. It’s amazing that he could do that and even more amazing that it all started here, from such small beginnings, in this house. We were dreamers, and look what he became.”
Fundraising for the project will begin in January 2026 and the project is planned to open at the end of 2027. More details are available here.
PHOTO: (L-R) Geoffrey Marsh, George Underwood and Nicola Stacey outside 4 Plaistow Grove, Bromley
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