Re-connecting the Classes – Establishing the Victoria Women’s Settlement in North Liverpool, 1898–1910

This article describes the opening, and the first twelve years of operation, of the Victoria Women’s Settlement on Netherfield Road in north Liverpool. Although the Settlement closed in 1984 its work and ethos were established in its first twelve years of operation. The Settlement was an example of a movement that began in 1885 and by the early part of the twentieth century had become international. Its aim was to reconnect the social classes who, as a product of the rapid expansion of cities were seen by that time to live parallel but non-interacting lives. This article uses a range of archive material to show the aims, methods, and philosophy of those who worked at the Settlement, as well as how the Settlement might have been perceived by those who used its services. It shows how the Settlement was typical for its period but also a radical departure. This local and detailed analysis of philanthropy is almost unique, and the article provides a rare example illustrating early-twentieth-century social work and philanthropy in action.