Social Reformers
Octavia Hill
Octavia Hill, social reformer and one of the founders of the National Trust. Octavia Hill was born in 1838 into a family of social reformers, her grandfather was Thomas Southwood Smith a public health reformer and her father was a friend of Jeremy Bentham so from an early age she was exposed to the need…
Read MoreThe Midland Revolt 1607
The Midland Revolt 1607, a period of failed harvests, enclosure, famine and despondency. Shakespeare writes about this in his play Coriolanus and refers to other uprisings and tensions in his plays Henry IV and 2 Henry VI.
Read MoreOld Poor Law
The Old Poor Law was the codified series of statutes that predated the draconian Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the timeline of this law casts some light on the origins of welfare and the plight of the poor in England for many years. If you have any reason to want to better understand the basis of society during the 19th century then some reference to these legal orgins will be helpful.
Read More1908 Children’s Act
The 1908 Children’s Act was a long time coming, seeking to protect children in late Victorian England.
Read MoreLord Shaftsbury built on John Pounds Ragged School idea…campaigned to improve the lot of working children
“The future hopes of a country must, under God, be laid in the character and condition of its children;…” Inspired by John Pounds and his own increasing religious conviction Lord Shaftsbury was a leader in social reform for children as the best way to improve society overall…
Read MoreCharles Dickens – supporter of Ragged Schools
In 1843, Charles Dickens visited the Field Lane Ragged School and was so shocked and moved by what he saw there, he decided to write a pamphlet about it. Instead though he penned ‘A Christmas Carol’ as he thought he could reach more people through a novel. An intriguing connection is that John Pounds set…
Read MoreCharles Dickens knew Florence Nightingale
We so often study the lives of famous people and their activities in isolation, what is intriguing is when you find how the lives of these people were meshed together
Read MoreThomas Malthus on Population 1798
Thomas Malthus and his thoughts on population growth
Read MoreFirst Contagious Disease Act 1864 Why was it important and who was Josephine Butler?
Social crusade against the state regulation of vice in the 19th Century and founding principles of feminist campaigning…Josephine Butler Grey led the way born 1828 died 1906
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