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140 years of social action

We're celebrating 140 years of social action through our movement, which started in 1884 through the creation of settlements Toynbee Hall and Oxford House in East London. Both are still active members of the Locality network, which has grown to 1,800 community organisations.

Today, Locality is proud to be part of a global movement championing the power of local communities to achieve social change. Spearheaded by the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres (IFS) this movement now has members in 30 countries.

The Settlement movement has a rich history that can be traced back to the East End of Victorian London. At the time, this area faced deprivation, crime and division. Having seen poverty first hand through his church, Vicar Samuel Barnett and his wife Henrietta had tried to improve things through their congregation and through engaging local officials. Seeing their efforts failing to have an impact, they decided to try something more radical.

They worked with Oxford and Cambridge Universities to build support for a new University Settlement of East London, which aimed to tackle poverty by creating spaces where local people could come together and access things like day care, healthcare, education, and other support to tackle poverty.

The second international conference of Settlements

In 1884 two of these new ‘settlements’ were set up. Oxford House was started in September 1884 in a school room, moving in 1892 to a new building on Derbyshire street in Bethnal Green. Toynbee Hall was established in a new building on Commercial street in Whitechapel, and opened on Christmas Eve 1884. Initially they were set up with the support of students from Oxford and Cambridge Universities who would live in these settlement houses to support and help educate poor Londoners. They quickly became important centres for mutual support and services in their communities. In 2024, both are thriving community hubs that champion social change, and both are active Locality members. You find out more about the history of Oxford House and Toynbee Hall.

Oxford House today, a community space with a café, affordable workspace, activities and rooms to hire.

The first settlements were followed by others in London such as St Margaret's House and St Hilda's East in 1889, and then more across the UK. They established the British Federation of Residential Settlements in 1920, which later evolved into Locality, the membership network for community organisations across England.

The movement quickly spread beyond the UK – to the US and Canada, across Europe, and to the rest of the world. IFS members now represent thousands of local community organisations across the world, all dedicated to addressing the social, economic, cultural, educational, and environmental needs of their communities.

Additionally, the IFS holds active consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), engaging directly in the work of the United Nations.

Today, Locality’s 1,800 members include the original settlements, and other organisations like development trusts, social action centres, and other local charities and social enterprises. Urban and rural, helping the young and the old, and working on health, social care, housing, arts, education and employment, they all share one goal: using the power of community to achieve social change.