Henrietta Barnett
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| Dame Henrietta Octavia Rowland Barnett | |
| Born | May 4, 1851 Clapham, England |
|---|---|
| Died | June 10, 1936 (aged 85) Hampstead Garden Suburb |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Humanitarian, Author |
| Spouse | Samuel Augustus Barnett |
Dame Henrietta Barnett, DBE (May 4, 1851 – 1936) was a notable English social reformer and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first 'University Settlement' at Toynbee Hall (in the East End of London) in 1884.
[edit] Personal life
Born Henrietta Octavia Rowland, daughter of Alexander Rowland, a wealthy businessman. She was born in Clapham, where she developed an enjoyment of country pursuits. She worked with Octavia Hill who was instrumental in introducing her to the curate of St Mary's, Bryanston Square, London. She subsequently married Samuel Barnett in 1873 and later that year the Barnetts moved to the impoverished Whitechapel parish of St Jude’s intent on improving social conditions.
A strong believer in the power of education to effect social change, she helped establish the Children's Country Holiday Fund (1884) and annual loan exhibitions of fine art at the Whitechapel gallery. The current Whitechapel Gallery was built in 1897 at the behest of the Barnetts, in the Arts and crafts style.
She was also strongly associated with the Hampstead area of north-west London, conceiving the idea of the model housing development of Hampstead Garden Suburb in 1904 (working with architects Raymond Unwin and Sir Edwin Lutyens) and helping protect part of Hampstead Heath from development by Eton College. Ironically, given that this was intended to provide affordable housing, this area contains some of the most expensive real-estate per unit area in London.
Henrietta Barnett also founded the Henrietta Barnett School in Hampstead Garden Suburb in 1911.
Barnett wrote several books, alone and with her husband. These include Practicable Socialism', which sets out their Christian Socialist beliefs.
For her work as a social reformer, Barnett was awarded the CBE in 1917 and was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1924. She lived at Heath End House in Spaniards Road, Hampstead (today marked by a blue plaque) until her death, twelve years later, in 1936.
[edit] Published works
- Barnett, Henrietta Rowland [1919] (1919). Canon Barnett: His Life, Work, and Friends (pdf) (in English), Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
- Barnett, Samuel Augustus; Henrietta Barnett [1888] (1972). Practicable Socialism: Essays on Social Reform (in English). Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press.
- Barnett, Samuel Augustus; Henrietta Barnett [1909] (1909). Towards Social Reform (in English). New York: Macmillan Co..
- Barnett, Henrietta Rowland [1930]. Matters that Matter (in English). J. Murray.
[edit] References
- Group, Taylor & Francis; Cathy Hartley, Susan Lecky (2003). A Historical Dictionary of British Women (in English). London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 1857432282.
- Smith, M. K. (2007). "Henrietta Barnett, social reform and community building". The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education.
