Toynbee Hall
Encyclopedia
It was the first university settlement house of the settlement movement
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...
, a reformist social movement that strove to get the rich and poor to live more closely together in an interdependent community. Founded in 1884 on Commercial Street in 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...
in 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...
's East End, it remains active today.
A centre for social reform, Toynbee Hall was founded by Samuel
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....
and Henrietta Barnett, and named in memory of their friend and fellow reformer, Oxford historian Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee was a British economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes.-Biography:...
, who had died the previous year.
History
The original building was designed by the obscure Elijah Hoole in vicarage-gothic styleGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. The building was designated a Grade II listed building in 1973.
The radical idea behind Toynbee Hall that became the basis for settlement houses throughout England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(e.g. Hull House
Hull House
Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...
) was that graduates would undertake social work in the deprived areas of towns and cities and learn something of what it was like to experience poverty — in the words of Samuel Barnett, 'to learn as much as to teach; to receive as much to give'.
Current programmes
Today, Toynbee Hall provides a series of programmes for young people and families, adults, and older people, which aim to meet the needs of local people, improve conditions and enable communities to fulfil their potential.The Young People and Families team aims to prevent young people from under-achieving, becoming involved in anti-social behaviour, or missing opportunities to meet their potential by engaging vulnerable young people in responsible and challenging activities that help them to develop their self-confidence, leadership and creative skills.
The Adult Advice and Education team coordinates projects that support adults experiencing social or financial exclusion through free and independent advice sessions and workshops, referrals and partnership working.
As one of the government’s pilot Link Age Plus Network Centres, Toynbee Hall works towards linking local services and opportunities for people aged over 50, including around debt, housing and health. The Older People team also provides a day care centre for isolated older people in the community.
Each year over 400 volunteers help to deliver the charity’s services.
On Toynbee Hall’s site the Barnett Research Centre houses a unique collection of socially important documents relating to the Settlement Movement and the history of social policy and social change nationally, internationally and in the East End of London. The Barnett Research Centre reference library and archive collection has over 4000 books and artifacts with many items dating back to the 19th century. The library is open to the public and is free to use.
In 2007 the Toynbee Studios opened in part of the building offering dance and media studios and a theatre.
Notable people and organisations associated with it
- Charles Robert AshbeeCharles Robert AshbeeCharles Robert Ashbee was an English designer and entrepreneur who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement that took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the socialism of William Morris.-Early life:He was the son of businessman and erotic...
, son of erotomaniaErotomaniaErotomania is a type of delusion in which the affected person believes that another person, usually a stranger or famous person, is in love with him or her. The illness often occurs during psychosis, especially in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania...
c Henry Spencer AshbeeHenry Spencer AshbeeHenry Spencer Ashbee was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer, notorious for his massive, clandestine three volume bibliography of erotic literature written under the pseudonym of Pisanus Fraxi.-Life:...
, created his Guild of Handicraft whilst a resident at Toynbee Hall in the late 1880s - The Whitechapel Art Gallery (founded 1901) grew out of annual free art exhibitions organised by Henrietta Barnett
- Toynbee residents included RH Tawney, and Clement AttleeClement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
. - William BeveridgeWilliam BeveridgeWilliam Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
began his career by working as Sub-Warden at Toynbee Hall from 1903 to 1905. - Visitors to Toynbee Hall included Lenin and Guglielmo MarconiGuglielmo MarconiGuglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
- The Workers Educational Association (WEA) was founded here in 1903.
- Child Poverty Action GroupChild Poverty Action GroupChild Poverty Action Group is a UK charity that works to alleviate poverty and social exclusion.The stated aims of the CPAG are:CPAG programs include:* Research and publish the latest facts and figures of family and child poverty in the UK...
was founded at a meeting held at Toynbee Hall in 1965. - John ProfumoJohn ProfumoBrigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE , informally known as Jack Profumo , was a British politician. His title, 5th Baron, which he did not use, was Italian. Although Profumo held an increasingly responsible series of political posts in the 1950s, he is best known today for his...
dedicated much of his time to the Hall from the 1960s onwards after the Profumo AffairProfumo AffairThe Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of...
forced him out of politics. - Sir Harold AtcherleyHarold AtcherleySir Harold Winter Atcherley is a former businessman, public figure and arts administrator in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
was Chairman of Toynbee Hall from 1985 to 1990.
External links
- Toynbee Hall
- Toynbee Art Club Website for club established in 1886 by C.R. Ashbee during his residence at Toynbee Hall.