The Bermondsey Settlement was a

settlement house The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

founded in

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

, South-East London, by the Rev'd

John Scott Lidgett John Scott Lidgett, CH (10 August 1854 – 16 June 1953) was a British Wesleyan Methodist minister and educationist. He achieved prominence both as a theologian and reformer within British Methodism, stressing the importance of the church's ...

. It was the only

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

foundation among the settlements that appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century. Like other settlement houses it offered social, health and educational services to the poor of its neighbourhood. It was particularly concerned with educational matters (Lidgett was a prominent educationist) including music and dance. It is noted for the work of one of its residents,

Grace Kimmins Dame Grace Mary Thyrza Kimmins, (''née'' Hannam; 6 May 1870 – 3 March 1954) was a British writer who created charities that worked with children who had disabilities. Biography Kimmins was born in Lewes, Sussex, the eldest of four children bo ...

, in relation to children's play. Other notable residents included the radical nonconformist

Hugh Price Hughes Hugh Price Hughes (8 February 1847 – 17 November 1902) was a Welsh Protestant clergyman and religious reformer in the Methodist tradition. He served in multiple leadership roles in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He organised the West London ...

, Grace Kimmins' husband

Charles William Kimmins Charles William "C. W." Kimmins (3 August 1856 – 12 January 1948) was an educational psychologist and was appointed chief inspector of the education department of the now defunct London County Council in 1904. He was appointed chief inspector at ...

, English socialist and pacifist

Ada Salter Ada Salter (''née'' Brown; 20 July 1866 – 4 December 1942) was an English social reformer, environmentalist, pacifist and Quaker, President of the Women's Labour League and President of the National Gardens Guild. She was one of the first wome ...

, and doctor and political radical

Alfred Salter Alfred Salter (16 June 1873 – 24 August 1945) was a British medical practitioner and Labour Party politician. Early life Salter was born in Greenwich in 1873, the son of Walter Hookway Salter and Elizabeth Tester. Following education at The ...

. The settlement opened in 1892. The architect of the main building was Elijah Hoole, who had also built

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affiliat ...

some years earlier. It was closed in 1967 and the building was demolished two years later.

References

*Crew, R. (~1999). The Bermondsey Settlement and Methodism. Dissertation,

Avery Hill College The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wit ...

Scotland, N. (2007)
''Squires in the slums: Settlements and Missions in Late-Victorian London''. London: I. B. Tauris. . See pp. 131 ff.

External links

Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Settlement houses in the United Kingdom Bermondsey {{London-stub