David Bowie’s Childhood Home Opens for Public Visits

The childhood home of David Bowie is set to open to the public once it has been restored to its condition in the 1960s, when he lived there.

Still known as David Jones, and using the title “David Jones Jr.” to affect an American spirit, he lived at 4 Plaistow Grove, Bromley, from 1955 to 1968, moving out around the age of 20.

He spent most of that time in his 9×10-foot bedroom, telling friends he preferred to be alone to “think and work” – and perhaps for other reasons.

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Geoffrey Marsh, who curated the David Bowie Is exhibition at London’s V&A Museum in 2013, has been hired by the Heritage of London Trust, which recently acquired the house from the owners for more than 50 years.

“You think, someone who didn’t have any big advantages, who came from an ordinary family, went to an ordinary school – what was it that went on there which created this driving ambition to succeed, to want to be a star, and which took him right through to it?” Marsh told The Guardian.

The Trust will investigate the building before returning it to its ‘60s condition. “One’s got to be really careful because there may be evidence of things like the wallpaper and paint colours buried under the modern decorations,” Marsh added. “And of course, in the 1960s it wouldn’t have had an internal lavatory or bathroom, so all that’s got to be removed.”

He expressed hopes that the house wouldn’t simply be a static tourist destination. “It’s not just aimed at being a memorial to David’s extraordinary creativity. … Part of the project is to work with young people and show them the drivers that helped David succeed, which can hopefully help them succeed. It’s a platform for the future.”

Was David Bowie Happy in His Childhood Home?

Meanwhile, Marsh asked Bowie fans to look at their memorabilia collections to see if anything might help the trust in its pursuit of accuracy. “Mrs Jones gave away and sold items in 1970 when she left the house,” he noted. “So if anyone in Bromley, or indeed anywhere else, has got anything they know from the house, we’d be very interested.”

He also requested that anyone with matching period furniture, such as rolls of ’60s wallpaper, make contact.

Asked if Bowie had been happy at 4 Plaistow Grove, Marsh said it was a “very tricky” subject, continuing: “He used to say he would retreat to his bedroom to get away from the living room. And I think that’s part of why he got this huge ambition – sitting in his bedroom, often alone. His school friends would often ask him out, and he’d say: ‘No, I’m going to stay at home and think and work.’”