David Bowie's Childhood Home Due To Be Restored (Music News)

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.

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Heritage of London Trust has announced the landmark acquisition of the family home of David Robert Jones - the modest south London terrace where the boy became David Bowie. Located at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, the property served as Bowie’s creative sanctuary from ages 8 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.

The heritage project, due for completion in late 2027, will restore the "two up, two down" railway workers’ cottage to its original early 1960s appearance. Working alongside curator Geoffrey Marsh (co-curator of the Victoria and Albert museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition - the definitive Bowie exhibition which was displayed globally) and utilising a never-before-seen archive, the restoration will recreate the interior layout exactly as it was when Bowie’s father commuted to work at charity Dr Barnado’s and his mother worked as a waitress. This experience will center on Bowie’s 9 ft x 10 ft bedroom - the specific site where his "trailblazing spirit" was forged.

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.”