Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett (née Rowland), DBE (4 May 1851 – 10 June 1936) was a notable English social reformer and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first 'University Settlement' at Toynbee Hall (in the East End of London) in 1884.
The daughter of Alexander Rowland, a wealthy businessman, in Clapham, she developed an enjoyment of country pursuits. She worked with Octavia Hill who was instrumental in int...
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Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett (née Rowland), DBE (4 May 1851 – 10 June 1936) was a notable English social reformer and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first 'University Settlement' at Toynbee Hall (in the East End of London) in 1884.
The daughter of Alexander Rowland, a wealthy businessman, in Clapham, she developed an enjoyment of country pursuits. She worked with Octavia Hill who was instrumental in introducing her to the curate of St Mary's, Bryanston Square, London.
She subsequently married Samuel Barnett in 1873 and later that year the Barnetts moved to the impoverished Whitechapel parish of St Jude's intent on improving social conditions.
A strong believer in the power of education to effect social change, she helped establish the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants in 1875, the Children's Country Holiday Fund in 1884, and annual loan exhibitions of fine art at the Whitechapel Gallery, which was built in 1897 at the...
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