Ronan Point was a 22-storey tower block in Newham, east London, which suffered a partial collapse on 16 May 1968 when a gas explosion demolished a load-bearing wall, causing the collapse of one entire corner of the building. Four people were killed in the incident, and seventeen were injured.
Ronan Point, named after Harry Louis Ronan (a former Chairman of the Housing Committee of the London Borough of Newham), was part of the wave of tower blocks built in the 1960s as cheap, affordable prefabricated housing for inhabitants of the West Ham region of London. The tower was built by Taylor Woodrow Anglian, using a technique known as Large Panel System building or LPS. This involved casting large concrete prefabricated sections off-site, then bolting them together to construct the building.
Building started in 1966, and construction was completed on 11 March 1968.
Read more about Ronan Point: Construction, Collapse, Effect On Legislation, Effect On Housing
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