A walk to celebrate the life and work of Octavia Hill will start from St Peter's Church, Walworth and go through the Octavia Hill Estates to St John's Church, Waterloo on Sunday 28 January, beginning at 2.30 pm. It will end with tea at St John's at 4 pm and a service of thanksgiving and commitment at 4.30pm.

28 January is being kept as Homelessness Sunday, and Octavia Hill played a major part in the creation of new housing on Ecclesiastical (later Church) Commissioners' lands in Waterloo and Walworth between 1900 and 1906.

The Rev Richard Truss, Vicar of St John's, Waterloo, says: "Octavia Hill did an amazing amount of work in providing decent housing in this part of London. This is the first time we have done a walk for Homelessness Sunday, and we hope to get a big turn-out of people from the churches and any others who would like to join in any part of the programme."
(St Peter's, Walworth is in Liverpool Grove, SE17 - Tube: Elephant and Castle; numerous buses down Walworth Road. St John's is in Waterloo Road, opposite Waterloo Station).

OCTAVIA HILL 1838-1912
Octavia Hill inherited a family tradition of charitable and reforming zeal. When they moved from Wisbech to London, she came under the influence of the Christian Socialists, including John Ruskin, who gave financial backing to her first project in providing better housing for the poor of London. Her vision, enthusiasm, and practical skill in planning and managing property led to her appointment by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1884 to oversee the design and maintenance of estates in Southwark. She saw a close relationship between the quality of people's lives and behaviour and the conditions in which they lived. Her concern to secure open spaces for public enjoyment led her being a joint founder of the National Trust.

FURTHER INFORMATION:
Rev Richard Truss, St John's, 020-77928 2003
Rev Giles Goddard, St Peter's, 020-7703 3139.

Ends.

For further information contact: