Helen Louisa Kerr, LLD JP ( Howden; 9 March 1859 – 8 February 1940) was a Scottish social reformer.

Life

The grave of Helen Kerr, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Helen Louisa Howden was born on 9 March 1859, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Shaw Stewart and her husband, James Howden, a chartered accountant with Borthwick and Howden. The family lived at 90 Manor Place in Edinburgh's west end. In 1888, she married George Kerr in Corstorphine She and her husband became involved in the Edinburgh Social Union (ESU), trying to provide affordable housing for students. They were closely linked to Patrick Geddes in these ventures. In 1896 they purchased 22 flats at Campbells Close in

Edinburgh's Old Town The Old Town ( sco, Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-cent ...

. The town Council showed great confidence in the ESU handing over control of blocks at Tron Square, High School Yards, Potterrow and Portsburgh Square. By 1901 they controlled 24 blocks. In 1889 she took on the unusual role, for a woman at that time, as Superintendent of Housing. In 1902, she met with

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3 December 1838 – 13 August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, whose main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Born into a fa ...

to discuss social housing in Edinburgh.Learning from the Lasses: Women of the Patrick Geddes Circle, by Walter Stephen. In 1907, she submitted a report to the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress, then in 1912, she was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Housing Conditions of the Industrial Population of Scotland Rural and Urban. and was the only woman member. The previous Housing Conditions Commission in 1885 had had no women members. The Women's Committee on House Planning in Scotland was chaired by Kerr in 1918. Its members included

Mary Burns Laird Mary Laird ( Burns; died 1944) was a founding member and first President of the Glasgow Women's Housing Association, a President of the Partick Branch of the Women's Labour League, associated with the Red Clydeside movement, and supported the ...

and

Catherine Hogg Blair Catherine Hogg Blair (''née'' Shields; 8 January 1872 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish suffragette, magistrate, founder of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI), and member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Blair was a ...

. The Committee had been established by the

Secretary for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoi ...

, Robert Munro, with the purpose of inspecting houses and making recommendations from the housewife's point of view. In 1920, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

awarded her an honorary doctorate (LLD) for her contributions to social reform. From 1891, she lived at 6 St Colme Street, a large Georgian townhouse on the Moray Estate in western Edinburgh.Edinburgh Post Office Directory, 1910-11 By the 1920s, she worked closely with Elizabeth Haldane, sister of Sir William Haldane, and Mary Maclagan in the improvement of housing across the UK. In 1921, she helped to establish the Nursing Committee at

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

, and also helped to establish the Astley Ainslie Trust.

Death

She died in Edinburgh on 8 February 1940, aged 80. She is buried with her husband facing "Lords Row" on the western edge of

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

Publications

*''Social Conditions of Provincial Towns'' (1912) *''The Path of Social Progress'' (1912)

Family

Kerr's husband George was a doctor who trained at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. The Kerr family were rich from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

fishing companies. The couple initially lived at Gogar House in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

, west of Edinburgh. Her sister-in-law, Mary Kerr, of 9 Great Stuart Street, was also involved in many of the ventures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Helen Louisa 1856 births 1940 deaths British social reformers Burials at the Dean Cemetery People associated with Edinburgh Scottish justices of the peace