Most people think Nelson Mandela House was filmed in Peckham.
It wasn’t.
And the real story behind those tower blocks is a lot more interesting than people realise.
The Only Fools and Horses archive is open! As a special treat to celebrate the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society’s long history, we’ve opened up our vaults and dug out some absolute gems from the pages of our pukka publications over the years.
In his first article, Mike Jones explores the history of the real-life exteriors used for Del and Rodney’s home: Nelson Mandela House.
No Place like Home
As all Only Fools and Horses fans know, over the show’s 22-year run, two different estates of tower blocks were used as exterior filming locations for the home of the Trotters — the fictional Nelson Mandela House. On screen, of course, it simply looked as though the council had given the estate a bit of a facelift sometime in the late 1980s, with the opening titles giving us a flashback to how it used to look.
We thought it would be fun to compare the two real-life tower blocks and see just how similar they really are.
Flat 1: Acton, Ealing, London
Real name: Beaumaris Tower (not actually Harlech Tower, as is often reported)
Built: 1968–69
Storeys: 13
Flats: 76
First OFAH appearance: Big Brother (1981)
Last OFAH appearance: To Hull and Back (1985)
Later appearances: Rock & Chips (2010–11)
Top moments: Rodney’s manic Ford Cortina drive and subsequent sale in Go West Young Man; Del’s meeting with young Jason in Happy Returns (1985).
Notes: Beaumaris Tower was one of three near-identical blocks on the South Acton Estate in Ealing, the others being Corfe Tower and Harlech Tower.
In the series, the three blocks were named Nelson Mandela House, Zimbabwe House and Desmond Tutu House, and were part of the fictional Nyerere Estate.
Suitably enough, the Trotters’ original location was revisited by the Rock & Chips production team to become Sir Walter Raleigh House — which we discover was the original name for Nelson Mandela House. In his 2010 blog promoting the prequel series, writer John Sullivan mentioned that “it’ll be a few more years before it’s renamed Nelson Mandela House”, so we’re not completely sure when the block was actually renamed (however Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962… so perhaps around that time?!)
Flat 2: Ashton, Bristol
Real name: Whitemead House
Built: 1961–62
Storeys: 11
Flats: 63
First OFAH appearance: Danger UXD (1989)
Last OFAH appearance: Sleepless in Peckham…! (2003), via stock footage from 2001’s If They Could See Us Now…!
Top moments: The riot in Fatal Extraction (1993), and the “yellow brick road” scene in Time on Our Hands (1996).
Notes: Whitemead House was one of three near-identical blocks, alongside Southbow House and Winterstoke House, situated directly beside Bristol City FC’s Ashton Gate Stadium on Duckmoor Road. It was built primarily to house retired residents.
As an additional thank you for all their cooperation during the filming of the Peckham riots for Fatal Extraction, the production team gifted the estate’s social group an electronic bingo machine!
The “BBC” that can be seen while some exteriors are being filmed has nothing to do with the corporation that made Only Fools and Horses — it actually stood for Bristol Bowls Club, who were based right next to the flats.
If this has whet your appetite, the full original printed version of this article, along with many more, can be found in our 2023 Convention programme, available from Del Boy’s Online Shop.
The OO Gauge Nelson Mandela House
Is an upcoming scale model building inspired by the iconic location from Only Fools and Horses. PRE-ORDER
We are currently offering this at a special pre-order price of £99.99.
This price is limited to the first batch and will increase once initial stock is allocated.
240x195mm
Cars NOT Included
