Samuel Barnett (reformer)
| Samuel Augustus Barnett | |
|---|---|
Samuel Augustus Barnett by George Frederic Watts
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| Born |
8 February 1844 Bristol, England, UK |
| Died | 17 June 1913 (aged 69) Hove, Sussex, England, UK |
| Venerated in | Church of England |
| Feast | 17 June |
Samuel Augustus Barnett (8 February 1844 – 17 June 1913) was an Anglican cleric and social reformer who was particularly associated with the establishment of the first university settlement, Toynbee Hall, in east London in 1884. He is often referred to as Canon Barnett, having served as Canon of Westminster Abbey from 1906 until death.
Samuel Augustus Barnett was born in Bristol, the elder son of Francis Augustus Barnett, an iron manufacturer. After a private education by tutors he entered Wadham College, Oxford, in 1862, leaving in 1866, whereafter he visited the United States. In the following year he was ordained as a deacon and became the curate of St Mary's, Bryanston Square before being ordained as a priest in 1868.
In 1873, he married Henrietta Octavia Weston Rowland (1851–1936), heiress, social reformer and author, later Dame Henrietta Barnett, DBE, who had been a co-worker of Octavia Hill. Both were social reformers and philanthropists with broad cultural interests. Later that year, the Barnetts moved to the impoverished Whitechapel parish of St. Jude's intent on improving social conditions in one of London's worst slums.
The East End area was notorious for its squalor and overcrowded housing conditions, as well as prostitution and other criminal activities. The Barnetts worked hard for the poor of their parish—opening evening schools for adults, providing them with music and entertainment, and serving on the local board of guardians and on the managing committees of schools. Barnett discouraged outdoor relief believing it fostered the pauperisation of the neighbourhood. At the same time, the Barnetts helped improve conditions of indoor relief, and co-ordinate the various charities by co-operation with the Charity Organization Society and the parish board of guardians.
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