For the 3 million people living in slums in post-war Britain, the refrain that “they had never had it so good” was an insult. Families were living in single rooms with no bathroom, sharing toilets and cooking facilities with multiple other residents. The housing was often substandard, with no foundations and crawling with vermin. Paying … Read more
While Charlotte Despard is well known for her work as a suffragist, her work with the poor is less recognised. Despard left her upper middle-class life and home in Esher, Surrey to move to one of the most deprived areas of London and improve the lives of the people that lived there. She helped make … Read more
Women’s Pioneer Housing is a unique partner of the Citizens project. Set up by women suffragists and suffragettes nearly 100 years ago, it became London’s first post-war housing service for single working women and today it continues to defend its original purpose: to cater for ‘professional and other women of moderate means who require individual … Read more
This article describes the life of Brian Barnes, a community artist and local Battersea activist. He has used his art not only as a means of self-expression but to harness the creativity of the community as part of a wider arts movement to bring about social and political change. The article focuses on a specific … Read more
