The estate was located to the south of Kidbrooke railway station and the A2 Rochester Way and to the north of the A20, to the east of Blackheath and to the west of the border of Eltham.

The estate was constructed by the Greater London Council between 1968 and 1972 to the east of Blackheath on brownfield land from the former RAF Kidbrooke base.

Site A was approved in 1967 with construction of five 12-storey towers (Clegg, Crozier, Goldmark, Leclair and Sala Houses) commencing one year later.

Site B was approved in 1970 with construction of six 12-storey towers (Felton, Ronald, Stainer, Standish, Sterling and Wixom Houses)[2] commencing the same year.

The Ferrier Estate was multi-ethnic, with a concentrated population of refugee families whereas the rest of the south of the borough of Greenwich remained mainly white British.

There was press speculation about a terror cell and terrorist training facility located on the Ferrier Estate following the arrest of the "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid in 2001.

1999 – 2003 Detailed work was carried out by Greenwich Council to assess the future of the Ferrier Estate and full-scale regeneration was concluded as the best option.