Katharine Buildings
Encyclopedia
Katherine Buildings were model dwellings
in Cartwright Street, Aldgate
, London
, the first project of the philanthropically
-motivated East End Dwellings Company
. The block was built during 1884, and opened in 1885 as model
apartments for the working class. There were 628 single rooms with shared cooking and sanitary facilities, plus a top floor for the very poorest families. The buildings were named after Katherine Courtney, wife of Leonard Courtney MP and sister of Beatrice Potter, who would later (as Beatrice Webb) go on to co-found the London School of Economics
and the New Statesman
.
A key feature of the Buildings was the rent collection system. Whereas most Model Dwellings Companies employed a strict regimen of prompt rent payment, the EEDC employed female collectors following the successful schemes demonstrated by Octavia Hill
. Beatrice Potter was employed as a principle visitor alongside Ella Pycroft, living in the Buildings, and the scheme was assisted by Charles Booth
, Samuel Barnett
, Maurice Eden Paul, the Charity Organisation Society and Osborne Jay.
The Buildings were demolished in the 1970s and replaced with council housing.
Model dwellings company
Model Dwellings Companies were a group of private companies in Victorian Britain that sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for them, at the same time receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment...
in Cartwright Street, Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, 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...
, the first project of the philanthropically
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
-motivated East End Dwellings Company
East End Dwellings Company
The East End Dwellings Company was a Victorian philanthropic model dwellings company, operating in the East End of London in the latter part of the nineteenth century...
. The block was built during 1884, and opened in 1885 as model
Model dwellings company
Model Dwellings Companies were a group of private companies in Victorian Britain that sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for them, at the same time receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment...
apartments for the working class. There were 628 single rooms with shared cooking and sanitary facilities, plus a top floor for the very poorest families. The buildings were named after Katherine Courtney, wife of Leonard Courtney MP and sister of Beatrice Potter, who would later (as Beatrice Webb) go on to co-found the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
.
A key feature of the Buildings was the rent collection system. Whereas most Model Dwellings Companies employed a strict regimen of prompt rent payment, the EEDC employed female collectors following the successful schemes demonstrated by Octavia Hill
Octavia Hill
Octavia Hill was an English social reformer, whose main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Born into a family with a strong commitment to alleviating poverty, she herself grew up in straitened circumstances owing...
. Beatrice Potter was employed as a principle visitor alongside Ella Pycroft, living in the Buildings, and the scheme was assisted by Charles Booth
Charles Booth
Charles Booth is the name of:*Charles Booth , Tudor bishop of Hereford*Charles Booth , English footballer*Charles Booth , British philanthropist best known for his surveys of poverty in London...
, Samuel Barnett
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....
, Maurice Eden Paul, the Charity Organisation Society and Osborne Jay.
The Buildings were demolished in the 1970s and replaced with council housing.
Further reading
- O'Day, Rosemary (2004) Caring or controlling? The East End of London in the 1880s and 1890s. In: Emsley, Clive; Johnson, Eric and Spierenburg, Pieter eds. Social control in Europe: Volume 2, 1800-2000. Columbus, Ohio, USA: Ohio State University Press, pp. 149–166