Toynbee Hall

A history of the first 50 years of Toynbee Hall founded in 1884 by Samuel Barnett and named after Oxford historian Arnold Toynbee who had died in 1882 of overwork in the deprived east London district of Whitechapel. Toynbee Hall was and is the first of the university and public school 'settlements' that inspired others in cities in Britain and the US - including Hull House in Chicago. The idea was for privileged young people, in this case from Oxford, to come and live for a while within the Whitechapel Community, before going into their chosen professions, and work on projects with members of the community. Some important figures in 20th C reforming politics in the UK spent time at Toynbee Hall including Clement Attlee, William Beveridge and RH Tawney. CR Ashbee is supposed to have designed their tree of life logo. The Workers Educational Association and the Child Poverty Action Group have their roots in Toynbee Hall. Toynbee Hall still flourishes in Whitechapel - see www.toynbeehall.org.uk