C. Violet Butler

[1] In 1905, Butler gained early experience in research whilst helping her sister collect information and write sections of an article on industries for the Victoria County History.

[6] Inspired by her interest in helping adolescents, Butler became an honorary secretary to the Council for the Industrial Advancement of Young People in Oxford, which encouraged school leavers to enter technical classes and skilled employment.

The conclusions of her research do not call for an end to the class system on which domestic work is based, but focus on best practice and good employers.

[4][7] Butler was involved with the Charity Organisation Society, and by 1910 was a member of the Oxford branch's Invalid and Crippled Children's sub-committee.

It was one of several provincial surveys inspired by Seebohm Rowntree's Poverty: a Study of Town Life (1901), the others being conducted in Norwich and Cambridge.

[4] Social Conditions largely focussed on the lack of opportunities and high levels of casual work among teenagers in Oxford.

[10] The Athenaeum commended the personal aspect of Social Conditions, stating "the Oxford of her picture never ceases to be a city of living people.

"[2] Brian Harrison wrote an essay in Traditions of social policy covering the history of the survey, describing it as "an unusual achievement, and an important document in its own right".

[9] After the First World War, Harold Plunkett and the Carnegie UK Foundation helped Barnett House to undertake a rural regeneration project.

[9] Butler was active in juvenile clubs, playing fields, adult education and community centres, both locally and nationally.

[4] She retired after the Second World War but remained active in Oxford and maintained an interest in the development of post-war policy in the city.