Oxford House (settlement)
Encyclopedia
Oxford House in Bethnal Green
, London
was established in September 1884 as one of the first "settlements
" by Oxford University as a High-Anglican Church of England
counterpart to Toynbee Hall
, established around the same time at Whitechapel
.
) of the High Anglican Church, the settlement movement sprang up primarily from the work of the Barnett’s
(Samuel, rector of Whitechapel and his wife Henrietta) who’s pioneering view saw the first steps to establishing Toynbee Hall
. This was considered by some at Oxford, led by the Warden of Keble College, Edward Talbot, “not sufficiently religious enough” and it was this group of Oxford men who looked to provide a more ascetic, denominationally religious, settlement in the East End of London. The first premises used under the Oxford House name was the National Day school of the parish church of St Andrew at Bethnal Green, which provided lodgings for three or four graduates to reside and work in the local neighbourhood, providing help and assistance to the poor and dispossessed of the surrounding area through a variety of activities including Boys clubs, A “Talk and smoke” club for working men, and Sunday afternoon Bible lectures.
The appointment of Arthur Winnington-Ingram
as Head of the Oxford House in 1889 and the ever-widening popularity of the programmes being run by the Oxford House necessitated a move to more substantial property. In a substantial fundraising effort, along with several Oxford luminaries, including Henry Scott Holland
’s rallying-cry, “come and be the squires of East London” and Winnington-Ingram’s plea to Oxford men that “if they would not come and live in Bethnal Green, they must at least supply a house for those who would.” the appeal raised enough capital to purchase the land on which Oxford House now stands and construct a solid red-brick 5 storey building. The building itself was designed by the renowned architect Sir Arthur Blomfield
and opened by the Duke of Connaught in 1892. It was designated an English Heritage
Grade II listed building in 2011.
Oxford House continued to provide a hub for the community of Bethnal Green and began expanding by purchasing other properties to run the various clubs and activities associated with the work of Oxford House. These included the Excelsior hall and swimming baths at Mansford street, University Club buildings in Victoria Park square, and recreation grounds for sporting clubs further east at Walthamstow
.
Similar University settlements also started in London (Cambridge House 1889, Bermondsey 1892, Docklands, Mansfield 1890) and other major cities in the UK (Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol) and abroad (New York, Chicago, Helsinki). Some were specifically established to address Women and Girls like St. Margaret’s and St. Hilda’s (both 1889) nearby.
The start of World War I
curtailed much of the House’s activities, many Oxford graduates entering the army leaving a shortage of resident volunteers. The building was temporarily used as a shelter from Zeppelin
air raids during 1917.
After the war the House struggled to return to the pre-1914 levels of residents and volunteers, although it manfully kept a number of Boys clubs and societies for working men going. Relations with the local clergy were fraught at times as it was “felt that the boys clubs were a counter attraction to their parochial ventures”. Throughout the 1920s and 30’s Oxford House, despite severe financial constraints, continued to work providing charitable support to the local community throughout the depression, where Bethnal Green had one of the highest unemployment rates in London. The House established links with Berkhampsted, Repton and Chigwell schools primarily through sports such as football and cricket, in an attempt to bring boys of different social backgrounds together.
In 1931 on his visit to Britain Mahatma Gandhi
gave an impromptu speech at Oxford House which attracted a crowd of 3,000 people outside to cheer him. And from 1933 the East End found itself the target of Anti-Semitic hatred through the activities of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. The Head of Oxford House sent letters to the local paper and the Times complaining of the disturbances caused by the “Black shirts”.
With the outbreak of World War II
many of the buildings associated with Oxford House were requisitioned by the war office for use by the army. Oxford House itself had a new Head: Guy Clutton-Brock
and his wife Molly. He set about a programme of opening up the house to the local people and, for the first time, running several clubs for Women and Girls alongside the Boys ventures. He also offered employment to many conscientious objectors who found work as volunteers of several of the activities and programmes Oxford House ran during the war.
The Victorian building itself was used as an air raid shelter during the "blitz
", housing upwards of 600 people. Local children were evacuated to Wales
where the House had acquired property enabling it to set up residential schools for 5-14 year olds and under 5’s (with accompanying mothers) providing shelter and respite from one of the heaviest bombed parts of London. After the initial bombing many people returned to the area only to find that the V1 and V2 rocket attacks in 1944 forced them to move out again. At the end of the war Guy Clutton-Brock took a job in post-war Germany and later founded a non-apartheid farm in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe
).
The war had broken down many social barriers and Oxford House saw itself more as a mainstay of the community, than an outside settlement dropped into the local area. Increasingly the direction of the House passed to non-Oxbridge people and Laity and the links between the University, Church of England and the House became less pronounced.
During the 1950s and 60’s Bethnal Green was being rebuilt and the slum clearances which had begun before the war accelerated with many housing estates being erected in the area leading to the formation of Community Associations in which Oxford House became closely involved. There were no longer the numbers of University graduates coming to reside and learn by gaining experience of working in the community and financially the House continued to struggle. Eventually this resulted in a three month period of closure in 1972.
Throughout the 1970s and 80’s Oxford House emerged from the problems surrounding itself and through a succession of Heads, under the Chairmanship of Peter F. Scott CBE. In 1984 the House was able to celebrate the Centenary of its founding with HRH The Princess Royal
acting as patron.
The Charity continued to provide projects for a diverse set of needs among the changing local communities. In the 1990s it found a home for Somali groups resulting from the Diaspora of the civil war
in that country, as well as Community Health projects, Pensioners clubs, Youth work and Art workshops.
The restoration of the original Blomfield-designed third floor Chapel was completed in 1997.
In 2003, funded through Arts council lottery money, a new Arts centre extension was opened providing Gallery space, a Theatre and a Dance studio.
Regular events taking place include: - Yoga, Pilates, Aikido, Callanetics, Slimming world, Dance classes.
Oxford House provides the use of a 130-seat theatre, a fully equipped Dance Studio, Café and Art Gallery, as well as a number of meeting rooms of various sizes all available for Hire.
Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood (1869–1956), styled Lord Hugh Cecil until 1941. Chair of Oxford House 1923-1937
Lord Rupert Ernest William Gascoyne-Cecil (1863–1936) Bishop of Exeter from 1916 to 1936.
Revd William Archibald Spooner
(1844–1930) – Oxford Don
Hugh Richard “Dick” Lawrie Sheppard (1880–1937) - founder of the Peace Pledge Union, Head of Oxford House 1909
Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford
– British Statesman, Viceroy of India 1916-1921
A. J. Webbe – Captain of the MCC 1885-1898
Sidney Herbert, 16th Earl of Pembroke
, (1906–1969) British peer
Dame Ngaio Marsh
(1895–1982) - Author
David Gawen Champernowne (1912–2000) English economist and mathematician.
Guy Clutton-Brock
(1906–1995) – Social worker, Head of Oxford House 1940-1944
Sir Wyndham Deedes
- (1883–1956) British Brigadier General
Roland Erasmus Phillips (1890–1916) – Founder of Boy Scouts in Bethnal Green
Henry Scott Holland
(1847–1918) - Regius Professor of Divinity at University of Oxford. Had Holland Hall at Oxford House named in his honour.
Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith
(1950- ) former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Sir Rhodes Boyson
(1925 - ) former MP Brent North
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was established in September 1884 as one of the first "settlements
Settlement movement
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement, beginning in the 1880s and peaking around the 1920s in England and the US, with a goal of getting the rich and poor in society to live more closely together in an interdependent community...
" by Oxford University as a High-Anglican Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
counterpart to Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall is a building in Tower Hamlets, East London which is the home of a charity working to bridge the gap between people of all social and financial backgrounds, with a focus on eradicating poverty and promoting social inclusion....
, established around the same time at Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
.
History
Arising out of the Philanthropic and Social movement of the mid-Victorian age which had found support at the University of Oxford and from the Tractarianism (or Oxford MovementOxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
) of the High Anglican Church, the settlement movement sprang up primarily from the work of the Barnett’s
Samuel Augustus Barnett
Samuel Augustus Barnett was an Anglican clergyman and social reformer particularly associated with the establishment of the first university settlement, Toynbee Hall in east London in 1884....
(Samuel, rector of Whitechapel and his wife Henrietta) who’s pioneering view saw the first steps to establishing Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall is a building in Tower Hamlets, East London which is the home of a charity working to bridge the gap between people of all social and financial backgrounds, with a focus on eradicating poverty and promoting social inclusion....
. This was considered by some at Oxford, led by the Warden of Keble College, Edward Talbot, “not sufficiently religious enough” and it was this group of Oxford men who looked to provide a more ascetic, denominationally religious, settlement in the East End of London. The first premises used under the Oxford House name was the National Day school of the parish church of St Andrew at Bethnal Green, which provided lodgings for three or four graduates to reside and work in the local neighbourhood, providing help and assistance to the poor and dispossessed of the surrounding area through a variety of activities including Boys clubs, A “Talk and smoke” club for working men, and Sunday afternoon Bible lectures.
The appointment of Arthur Winnington-Ingram
Arthur Winnington-Ingram
Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram KCVO PC was Bishop of London from 1901 to 1939.-Early life and career:He was born in Worcestershire, the fourth son of the Revd Edward Winnington-Ingram and of Louisa...
as Head of the Oxford House in 1889 and the ever-widening popularity of the programmes being run by the Oxford House necessitated a move to more substantial property. In a substantial fundraising effort, along with several Oxford luminaries, including Henry Scott Holland
Henry Scott Holland
Henry Scott Holland was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. He was also a canon of Christ Church, Oxford.-Family and education:...
’s rallying-cry, “come and be the squires of East London” and Winnington-Ingram’s plea to Oxford men that “if they would not come and live in Bethnal Green, they must at least supply a house for those who would.” the appeal raised enough capital to purchase the land on which Oxford House now stands and construct a solid red-brick 5 storey building. The building itself was designed by the renowned architect Sir Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
and opened by the Duke of Connaught in 1892. It was designated an English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Grade II listed building in 2011.
Oxford House continued to provide a hub for the community of Bethnal Green and began expanding by purchasing other properties to run the various clubs and activities associated with the work of Oxford House. These included the Excelsior hall and swimming baths at Mansford street, University Club buildings in Victoria Park square, and recreation grounds for sporting clubs further east at Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
.
Similar University settlements also started in London (Cambridge House 1889, Bermondsey 1892, Docklands, Mansfield 1890) and other major cities in the UK (Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol) and abroad (New York, Chicago, Helsinki). Some were specifically established to address Women and Girls like St. Margaret’s and St. Hilda’s (both 1889) nearby.
The start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
curtailed much of the House’s activities, many Oxford graduates entering the army leaving a shortage of resident volunteers. The building was temporarily used as a shelter from Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
air raids during 1917.
After the war the House struggled to return to the pre-1914 levels of residents and volunteers, although it manfully kept a number of Boys clubs and societies for working men going. Relations with the local clergy were fraught at times as it was “felt that the boys clubs were a counter attraction to their parochial ventures”. Throughout the 1920s and 30’s Oxford House, despite severe financial constraints, continued to work providing charitable support to the local community throughout the depression, where Bethnal Green had one of the highest unemployment rates in London. The House established links with Berkhampsted, Repton and Chigwell schools primarily through sports such as football and cricket, in an attempt to bring boys of different social backgrounds together.
In 1931 on his visit to Britain Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
gave an impromptu speech at Oxford House which attracted a crowd of 3,000 people outside to cheer him. And from 1933 the East End found itself the target of Anti-Semitic hatred through the activities of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. The Head of Oxford House sent letters to the local paper and the Times complaining of the disturbances caused by the “Black shirts”.
With the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
many of the buildings associated with Oxford House were requisitioned by the war office for use by the army. Oxford House itself had a new Head: Guy Clutton-Brock
Guy Clutton-Brock
Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock was an English social worker, who became a Zimbabwean nationalist and co-founder of Cold Comfort Farm....
and his wife Molly. He set about a programme of opening up the house to the local people and, for the first time, running several clubs for Women and Girls alongside the Boys ventures. He also offered employment to many conscientious objectors who found work as volunteers of several of the activities and programmes Oxford House ran during the war.
The Victorian building itself was used as an air raid shelter during the "blitz
Blitz
-Armed conflict:*The Blitz, the German aerial attacks on Britain in WWII. The name Blitz was subsequently applied to many individual bombing campaigns or attacks.*Blitzkrieg, the "lightning war", a strategy of World War 2 Germany-People:...
", housing upwards of 600 people. Local children were evacuated to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where the House had acquired property enabling it to set up residential schools for 5-14 year olds and under 5’s (with accompanying mothers) providing shelter and respite from one of the heaviest bombed parts of London. After the initial bombing many people returned to the area only to find that the V1 and V2 rocket attacks in 1944 forced them to move out again. At the end of the war Guy Clutton-Brock took a job in post-war Germany and later founded a non-apartheid farm in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
).
The war had broken down many social barriers and Oxford House saw itself more as a mainstay of the community, than an outside settlement dropped into the local area. Increasingly the direction of the House passed to non-Oxbridge people and Laity and the links between the University, Church of England and the House became less pronounced.
During the 1950s and 60’s Bethnal Green was being rebuilt and the slum clearances which had begun before the war accelerated with many housing estates being erected in the area leading to the formation of Community Associations in which Oxford House became closely involved. There were no longer the numbers of University graduates coming to reside and learn by gaining experience of working in the community and financially the House continued to struggle. Eventually this resulted in a three month period of closure in 1972.
Throughout the 1970s and 80’s Oxford House emerged from the problems surrounding itself and through a succession of Heads, under the Chairmanship of Peter F. Scott CBE. In 1984 the House was able to celebrate the Centenary of its founding with HRH The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
acting as patron.
The Charity continued to provide projects for a diverse set of needs among the changing local communities. In the 1990s it found a home for Somali groups resulting from the Diaspora of the civil war
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
in that country, as well as Community Health projects, Pensioners clubs, Youth work and Art workshops.
The restoration of the original Blomfield-designed third floor Chapel was completed in 1997.
In 2003, funded through Arts council lottery money, a new Arts centre extension was opened providing Gallery space, a Theatre and a Dance studio.
Current programmes
Oxford House is now home to many third sector and social enterprise groups who are active in providing a range of programmes for young people, families, adults, and older people, each of which aim to meet the needs of local people, and enable communities to fulfil their potential.Regular events taking place include: - Yoga, Pilates, Aikido, Callanetics, Slimming world, Dance classes.
Oxford House provides the use of a 130-seat theatre, a fully equipped Dance Studio, Café and Art Gallery, as well as a number of meeting rooms of various sizes all available for Hire.
Notable people and organisations associated with it
Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram – Bishop of London 1901-1939Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood (1869–1956), styled Lord Hugh Cecil until 1941. Chair of Oxford House 1923-1937
Lord Rupert Ernest William Gascoyne-Cecil (1863–1936) Bishop of Exeter from 1916 to 1936.
Revd William Archibald Spooner
William Archibald Spooner
William Archibald Spooner was a famous Oxford don whose name is given to the linguistic phenomenon of spoonerism.-Biography:...
(1844–1930) – Oxford Don
Hugh Richard “Dick” Lawrie Sheppard (1880–1937) - founder of the Peace Pledge Union, Head of Oxford House 1909
Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford
Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford
Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland , Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford...
– British Statesman, Viceroy of India 1916-1921
A. J. Webbe – Captain of the MCC 1885-1898
Sidney Herbert, 16th Earl of Pembroke
Sidney Herbert, 16th Earl of Pembroke
Sidney Herbert, 16th Earl of Pembroke, 13th Earl of Montgomery was a British peer.Pembroke was educated at Eton and Pembroke College, Oxford. Served War of 1939–1945 in Royal Artillery and Comptroller and Private Secretary to the Duchess of Kent, 1942–1948, as well as Equerry to the Duke of Kent...
, (1906–1969) British peer
Dame Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
(1895–1982) - Author
David Gawen Champernowne (1912–2000) English economist and mathematician.
Guy Clutton-Brock
Guy Clutton-Brock
Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock was an English social worker, who became a Zimbabwean nationalist and co-founder of Cold Comfort Farm....
(1906–1995) – Social worker, Head of Oxford House 1940-1944
Sir Wyndham Deedes
Wyndham Deedes
Sir Wyndham Henry Deedes CMG DSO was a British Brigadier General and was also the Chief secretary to the British High Commissioner of the British Mandate of Palestine.- Early life :Deedes was born in 1893 in Kent, England...
- (1883–1956) British Brigadier General
Roland Erasmus Phillips (1890–1916) – Founder of Boy Scouts in Bethnal Green
Henry Scott Holland
Henry Scott Holland
Henry Scott Holland was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. He was also a canon of Christ Church, Oxford.-Family and education:...
(1847–1918) - Regius Professor of Divinity at University of Oxford. Had Holland Hall at Oxford House named in his honour.
Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith
Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith
Peter Henry Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, PC, QC , is a former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. On 22 June 2007, Goldsmith announced his resignation which took effect on 27 June 2007, the same day that prime minister, Tony Blair, stepped down. Goldsmith was the longest...
(1950- ) former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Sir Rhodes Boyson
Rhodes Boyson
Sir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative Member of Parliament for Brent North...
(1925 - ) former MP Brent North