She established an early juvenile labour exchange, the Cambridge Boys' Employment Registry,[1] and was secretary of the local Charity Organisation Society, which provided pensions for the elderly living in poverty.
[1] Margaret's first job was at the Boys' Employment Registry with Eglantyne Jebb (founder of the Save the Children charity in 1919), later setting up a similar one for girls.
From the work of the Trust, Margaret realised that ′some of the older and more infirm tenants were in need of personal help as well as accommodation′[6] and in 1939 Margaret opened her first home for eight elderly ladies, called Delia Grotten's at 47, Cecile Park Road, Crouch End, London N8, with her parents making a generous contribution towards the conversion of the Edwardian house.
[4] In 1944, Hill Homes Ltd was formed, with Margaret appointed as Chair, holding its inaugural meeting at 16 Bishopswood Road, on 6 June 1944 (D Day).
[4] During their 54 years in Highgate, according to their grandson Nicholas Humphrey, the Hill's informal tea parties at their home are said to have been attended by as many as 18 Nobel Laureates, as well as their friends Stephen Hawking and Sigmund Freud.