Exploring and Uncovering Heritage
Through artist studios, workshops, and cultural events, Alice Billing House is being transformed into an inclusive space for creativity, heritage, and public engagement - honouring its past while shaping Newham’s creative future.
Alice Billing House is a historic building in Stratford, Newham, originally built in 1905–06 to house the West Ham Fire Brigade. Designed by Borough Engineer John G. Morley, its North Block is Grade II listed and features a rare hose-drying tower. Over the years, the building has served many purposes. In the 1990s, it was renamed in honour of Alice Billing, one of the UK’s first female sanitary inspectors, whose pioneering legacy continues to inspire our community programmes.
After a period of decline, Alice Billing House is now undergoing heritage-led regeneration. With support from the Creative Land Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund, it is being reactivated as a creative hub for local artists and communities.
Through artist studios, workshops, and cultural events, Alice Billing House is being transformed into an inclusive space for creativity, heritage, and public engagement - honouring its past while shaping Newham’s creative future.
How did you get here? What does a day in your life look like? How would you introduce yourself to someone from the future?
This Black History Month, we came together for a creative and inspiring fabrication workshop that celebrated storytelling, memory, and heritage through fashion.
UPADTE: Here we have the wonderful collection of ceramic tiles created during Made of Places, the tile-making workshops led by artist-in-residence Beverley Sommerville.
On 18 September, we invited guests to an evening celebrating the work created by artist-in-residence Sam Ikhuoria, studio holders Frames of Mind, and local residents for our Newham Heritage Month project—Inspector of Nuisances
On Saturday, 20 September 2025, Alice Billing House had its second Open Studios as part of the Open House Festival.
Ramaa Sharma was our Artist-in-residence for two weeks in July and August 2025 for the Time Capsule project and for South Asian Heritage Month. She is a mixed media artist and an AI consultant.
In July, a group of East London residents gathered to consider what heritage meant to them and what they would want to remember in a hundred years time for the purposes of the Time Capsule project.
The Collage & Conversation workshop was an exciting highlight of Sam’s residency. The session invited participants to explore the history of the building through collage-making and conversation, using the art technique of positive and negative spaces.
As part of Newham Heritage Month 2025, Newham-based visual artist Sam Ikhuoria completed a two-week residency at Alice Billing House. His work was developed in response to the theme Inspector of Nuisances, a title once used for sanitation inspectors in the 19th century, and his reflection on the layered histories of Alice Billing House over the past 60 years.
As part of her artist residency at Alice Billing House, ceramicist Beverley Sommerville explored the relationship between material, memory, and place. Her practice centres on gathering physical matter from meaningful locations and moments in time, incorporating these materials into clay to create artworks that embed the essence of place and history.
This July, we were thrilled to host Inspector of Nuisances – a series of workshops led by Bo and Zoe of Frames of Mind UK. The project invited participants to explore the legacy of women’s health and working conditions in Newham over the past 60 years through creative storytelling, animation, and shared experience
We’re excited to welcome Ramaa Shara as our selected artist-in-residence for South Asian Heritage Month 2025. Ramma, a multidisciplinary artist with roots in South Asia and strong ties to East London, will be undertaking a two-week residency exploring themes of heritage, memory, and identity.
This collaborative project, designed by Fernanda Palmieri and Carsten Jungfer, architects, researchers, students and lecturers at University of East London, engages with Newham’s wider ambition to place people and planet at the heart of Stratford Town Centre’s regeneration.
As part of our Newham Heritage Month project, Inspector of Nuisance, we launched an open call inviting a Newham-based artist to respond to the rich 60-year history of Alice Billing House.
The funding will breathe life back into the North Building and further improve the South Building, ensuring that the Grade II listed property is safely restored and taken off the Heritage at Risk register. Its new resident artists will continue to build upon the inclusive and representative resource for Newham’s residents, offering activities in the new public spaces, including a pavilion and garden.
On Saturday, 17th May, we opened our to the local community for a unique and memorable tile-making workshop led by artist-in-residence Beverley Sommerville.