Homes of the London Poor

by Octavia Hill

Overview

Octavia Hill (1838–1912) is today best remembered as one of the founders of the National Trust. However, her involvement in education and social reform, and particularly housing, was a large part of her work. Shocked at the poverty and overcrowding she found in London slums, she began to acquire and improve properties which would restore the tenants' dignity and self-respect. She organised a team of volunteer 'district visitors' to help the residents, and especially children, to achieve a better quality of life, including recreational amenities. These articles, dating from 1866 to 1875, show the development of her thinking on how to achieve reforms by a mixture of legislation and charity. As the number of properties and helpers grew considerably, she argued that the personal involvement of volunteers achieved more than a larger bureaucracy could. Her work, which was internationally recognised, led to the development of housing associations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789362768377
Publisher:	Double 9 Books
Publication date:	04/01/2024
Pages:	62
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.15(d)

About the Author

Octavia Hill was an English social reformer who focused on the well-being of city dwellers, particularly in London, in the second half of the nineteenth century. She was born into a family of radical thinkers and reformers who were deeply committed to reducing poverty, and she grew up in difficult circumstances as a result of her father's business failures. Her mother educated her at home, and she began working for the welfare of workers when she was 14 years old. Hill was a driving factor in the construction of communal housing, and her early association with John Ruskin allowed her to put her theories into action with the help of his initial investment. Hill was also concerned about the availability of open areas for low-income people. She battled against development in existing suburban woodlands and helped to prevent construction on London's Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill Fields. She was one of the three founding members of the National Trust, which was established to preserve places of historical interest or natural beauty for the enjoyment of the British people. She was a founding member of the Charity Organisation Society (now Family Action), which organised philanthropic funds and pioneered a home-visiting program that laid the groundwork for modern social work. She was on the Royal Commission on Poor Laws in 1905.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Cottage property in London; 2. Four years' management of a London court; 3. Landlords and tenants in London; 4. The work of volunteers in the organisation of charity; 5. Co-operation of volunteers and poor-law officials; 6. Why the Artisans Dwellings Bill was wanted; 7. Space for the people.