SOCIAL REFORMER OCTAVIA HILL
By Glynn Burrows
Access to nature is good for our well-being. We need to stop the destruction of the natural landscape. Urban housing needs to be of better quality. No, these are not new directives from the recently elected government of the UK, they are the thoughts of the nineteenth-century pioneer social reformer, Octavia Hill.
Octavia was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in 1838. She was the daughter of very forward-thinking, middle-class parents who had made several social reforms, including opening the Wisbech Infant School as “a service to the wretched poor”.
Sadly, her father James and his brother Thomas were declared bankrupt and a sale of property was held in 1840, which included not only the school but several houses and pubs too, together with their own home. It appears that, not long after that, the family became separated, as, in 1851 Octavia and her siblings were living with their mother in London.
Octavia worked amongst the poor and destitute, seeing for herself the terrible conditions in which people were living and she set out to improve their lives.
Octavia was very fortunate because she knew several influential people of the day and one of these, John Ruskin, provided her with the money to start buying decaying properties, in order to renovate them and transform not only the buildings but the lives of the tenants.
Octavia became a landlord and by 1874, she had over 3,000 tenancies all over the capital.
Realising that social reform went hand in hand with education, Octavia encouraged creativity amongst her tenants, with music lessons, outings, and other cultural activities being made available. In 1877, with her sister Miranda, she founded the Kyle Society, with the aim of bringing beauty, nature, art, and music to everyone.
Perhaps the thing that brings Octavia’s name to our attention today was when, in 1895, together with Hardwicke Rawnsley, she founded the National Trust.
Today, the National Trust cares for 500 historic properties, 250,000 hectares of farmland, 780 miles of coastline, numerous gardens, and nature reserves and, Octavia said: “We all want quiet. We all want beauty…we all need space.”
Thanks to her and The National Trust, we can now enjoy those things.
Glynn provides customized, private tours and helps his clients trace their English family history. Past guests have visited and experienced stately houses and gardens, castles and churches, ruins and villages, birding and wildlife, World War II airfields, and general area taster tours too. Accommodations can be in all types of establishments, from character buildings such as windmills, thatched cottages and castles, self-catering or five-star luxury – just say what you want and it can be arranged. Nothing is too much trouble for Glynn! Visit www.Norfolk-Tours.co.uk