David Bowie's childhood home in Bromley to be restored as a heritage site
Take a look inside David Bowie’s childhood home, where he became a global music icon.
It’s exciting news for music fans, as Heritage of London Trust announces the acquisition of David Bowie’s childhood home in Bromley.
The modest terraced house is where a young David Robert Jones began his journey from suburban schoolboy to global musical icon.
Located at 4 Plaistow Grove, the house served as Bowie’s home between the ages of 8 and 20 (1955–1967).
It was here that he wrote his earliest music and returned later to compose Space Oddity, the breakthrough hit that launched him onto the world stage.
The heritage project, due to be completed in late 2027, will restore the “two up, two down” railway workers’ cottage to its original layout from the early 1960s.
Under the guidance of curator Geoffrey Marsh, co-curator of the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition, and informed by a previously unseen archive, the team will restore the interior to reflect the period when Bowie’s father worked at Dr Barnardo’s and his mother was a waitress.
The experience will centre on Bowie’s tiny 9ft x 10ft childhood bedroom, described as the place where his trailblazing spirit took shape.
The Trust says the project reaches far beyond conservation. Inspired by Bowie’s Beckenham Arts Lab, which championed creativity “for everybody”, the house will become a hub for workshops and skills sessions for young people.
Through the charity’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes, the site will offer confidence-building opportunities rooted in arts, culture and local heritage.
A major £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation has already been secured, with a public fundraising campaign launching this month. The property sits close to the Edwardian “Bowie bandstand”, restored by Bromley Council and the Heritage of London Trust in 2024.
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, my music, my record player up there. 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.”
George Underwood, artist, musician and 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 lives. 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.”
Caitlin Moran, journalist, broadcaster and author, said: "The most exciting place for any fan to visit is their hero's teenage bedroom - because that's the cocoon where they built themselves. All the world-changing started there. The chance for us all to walk through a newly-opened door, and see the suburban launch-pad from which David Bowie almost literally took off into space is beyond thrilling."
Greg Harris, President of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, said: “David Bowie is one of the most significant artists of all time, and 2026 is the 30th anniversary of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, music's highest honour.
“Thank you to the Heritage of London Trust and the Jones Day Foundation for supporting the restoration of his childhood home in London – once completed, it will provide context for the genesis of Bowie’s creativity and vision and inspire new generations to follow their dreams."
Chris Kelly, President of the Jones Day Foundation, said: “For the last five years, the Jones Day Foundation has been thrilled to support Heritage of London Trust’s Proud Places program, which has involved over 10,000 young Londoners in their local heritage and inspired in them pride in their history and surroundings.
“The Bowie House project is special because it combines music and heritage in London and will help to preserve the legacy of one of the legends of rock and roll. The Foundation has also been a supporter of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for decades now. We are looking forward to exploring ways we can assist these two wonderful organisations to work in partnership."
Fundraising for the project will begin in January 2026, with plans to open the house to the public at the end of 2027. More information can be found at bowieshouse.org.