| AdminHistory | Born in Surrey, Henrietta Barnett, (nee Rowland, 1851-1936) was educated in Dover before working with the philanthropist and housing reformer Octavia Hill in Marylebone. It was through her work with Hill that Rowland met Samuel Augustus Barnett (1844-1913) who became her husband in 1873 and was later appointed Canon and Subdean of Westminster. Koven describes the Barnetts' 'remarkable collaboration as social reformers', suggesting that like Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury and her husband George Cadbury, Henrietta was 'her husband's equal partner in all their celebrated initiatives'. Barnett's philanthropic endeavours reflected Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's work in Bournville, particularly through her establishment of the Children's Country Holiday Fund in 1884. In the same year Henrietta and Samuel Barnett established the University Settlement Toynbee Hall and in 1903 Henrietta founded the Hampstead Garden Suburb, a housing and community project which was influenced by Bournville. A published writer, Henrietta Barnett also established educational institutions in Hampstead during the early twentieth century and was created Dame of the British Empire in 1924. |