Another noteworthy feature of welfare provision emerging from the 19th century was the
development of the Settlement movement. This began in the 1880s in London in response to
social problems and poverty created by rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and immigration.
The idea quickly spread to other industrialised countries. A good early example of the Settlement
movement in England can be found at Toynbee Hall, founded by a Church of England
curate, Samuel Barnett, and his wife in the parish of St Jude’s in the East End of London, one
of the poorest areas of London. Through education and community development the Barnetts
hoped to improve and change society.
The truly radical idea behind the social settlement was to invite individuals to come to live in
the settlement. Settlement houses typically attracted well-educated, native-born, middle-class
and upper-middle-class women and men, known as ‘residents’, to ‘settle’ and visit or less commonly
reside for a period of time in poor districts and neighbourhoods. ‘Settlers’ were expected
to provide education and support to local residents. Some settlements were linked to religious
institutions, others to universities and secular groups