Oxford House (settlement)

The first premises used under the Oxford House name was the National Day School of the parish church of St Andrew at Bethnal Green, which provided lodgings for three or four graduates to reside and work in the local neighbourhood, providing help and assistance to the poor and dispossessed of the surrounding area through a variety of activities including boys' clubs, a "talk and smoke" club for working men, and Sunday afternoon Bible lectures.

"[5] The appeal raised enough capital to purchase the land on which Oxford House now stands, and construct a solid red-brick 5-storey building, designed by the renowned architect Sir Arthur Blomfield.

[citation needed] Oxford House continued to provide a hub for the community of Bethnal Green and began expanding by purchasing other properties to run the various clubs and activities associated with its work.

[citation needed] Similar University settlements also started in London (Cambridge House 1889, Bermondsey 1892, Docklands, Mansfield 1890) and other major cities in the UK (Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol) and abroad (New York, Chicago, Helsinki).

Throughout the 1920s and 30s Oxford House, despite severe financial constraints, continued to provide charitable support to the local community, even during the depression, when Bethnal Green had one of the highest unemployment rates in London.

The House established links with Berkhamsted, Repton and Chigwell Schools, primarily through sports such as football and cricket, in an attempt to bring boys of different social backgrounds together.

[7] They set about a programme of opening up the house to the local people and, for the first time, running several clubs for women and girls alongside the boys' ventures.

[8] Local children were evacuated to Wales where the House had acquired property enabling it to set up residential schools for 5- to 14-year-olds and under-5s (with accompanying mothers), providing shelter and respite from one of the heaviest bombed parts of London.

The vision is to ‘build a harmonious and creative community in Bethnal Green’ with a mission ‘to provide a community-led, inspiring, diverse, and sustainable multipurpose arts space’.

Oxford House provides the use of a 130-seat theatre, a fully equipped dance studio, café and art gallery, as well as a number of meeting rooms of various sizes all available for hire.