Blackfriars Settlement

[3] It was part of the settlement movement promoted by Rev Samuel Barnett who prompted young people with university educations to settle in the worst areas of poverty.

[6] At its inception, a Newnham student Alice Gruner was appointed Head Worker, and the organization was based at her house at 44 Nelson Square, Southwark.

Other Newnham students involved in the venture included Mary Paley Marshall,[7][8] Nora Sidgwick, and the Prime Minister's daughter Helen Gladstone.

Graham Wallas, presiding at the organization's AGM (Annual General Meeting), saw it as exemplifying the way in which social work had moved from Victorian amateurism to professional activity on scientific lines.

The organization moved into the Rushworth Street building in 1992, a purpose-built structure that replaced a run-down Georgian Town House.

It in turn became dated with leaks in its flat roof and Blackfriars rented accommodations on at Suffolk Street while renovations took place.