Octavia Hill

Homes of the London Poor (Dodo Press) Octavia Hill

Octavia Hill (1838-1912) was an English social reformer, particularly concerned with the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, specifically London, in the second half of the 19th century. She was a moving force behind the development of social housing, including Council housing, and she also campaigned for the availability of open spaces for poor people, which resulted in the establishment of the National Trust. She was a member of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws in 1905. Hill knew a great many notable Victorian artists and writers. John Ruskin funded her first ventures in housing reform in 1864 by financing the lease of three slum properties in Marylebone, London. In 1889, she created the Southwark detachment of the Army Cadet Force, the first independent unit. Her works include Homes of the London Poor (1875).