Three long-term residents of Treves House and Lister House from varied backgrounds are fighting plans being considered by Tower Hamlets council to demolish their blocks of social housing flats.
Treves House appears to be the only local memorial to Sir Frederick Treves (1853-1923), the Victorian/Edwardian notable surgeon of the nearby London Hospital, who identified and assisted Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the Elephant Man (1862-1890). In later life Treves rose to be the leading surgeon in the UK for the procedure of removal of the appendix and is credited with saving the life of Edward VII by this procedure in 1902.