Co-partnership housing movement
Encyclopedia
Housing co-partnership was a social movement
that developed alongside the garden city movement
in Britain between 1900 and 1914 and which financed and built most of the suburbs and villages associated with that movement. It was also a unique form of tenure combining features of a tenant co-operative and a limited dividend company.
The idea of co-operative housing can be traced back to early 19th Century figures, notably Robert Owen
and Charles Fourier
. Providing housing was one of the key objectives of the Rochdale Pioneers
, an early British co-op whose principles were associated with the rapid growth of the co-operative movement
in the second half of the 19th century. However, it was not until 1901 that the first successful wave of co-partnerships was set up at Brentham
in Ealing
in west London. Its leading figure was Henry Harvey Vivian
.
The connections between the garden city and co-operative movements go back to the 1870s and 1880s when Ebenezer Howard
was moving in radical circles which included utopian community builders and land reformers. But the practical link came in 1901 when London lawyer and chairman of the Labour Association, Ralph Neville, was persuaded by Howard to become chair of the Garden City Association (GCA). Neville introduced Howard to a group of wealthy and influential people who had already invested in the Ealing project. By 1903, this group was ready to invest in the Letchworth
project. Two years later the link was sealed when Vivian brought in GCA architects Unwin and Parker to work on the Ealing project.
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
that developed alongside the garden city movement
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
in Britain between 1900 and 1914 and which financed and built most of the suburbs and villages associated with that movement. It was also a unique form of tenure combining features of a tenant co-operative and a limited dividend company.
The idea of co-operative housing can be traced back to early 19th Century figures, notably Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
and Charles Fourier
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
. Providing housing was one of the key objectives of the Rochdale Pioneers
Rochdale Pioneers
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumer co-operative, and the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement....
, an early British co-op whose principles were associated with the rapid growth of the co-operative movement
History of the cooperative movement
The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement began with the application of cooperative principles to business...
in the second half of the 19th century. However, it was not until 1901 that the first successful wave of co-partnerships was set up at Brentham
Brentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in cooperative principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb by some years...
in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
in west London. Its leading figure was Henry Harvey Vivian
Henry Harvey Vivian
Henry Harvey Vivian was an English trade unionist, Lib–Lab, laterLiberal Party politician and campaigner for industrial democracy and co-partnership, especially noted for his work in co-partnership housing.-Biography:...
.
The connections between the garden city and co-operative movements go back to the 1870s and 1880s when Ebenezer Howard
Ebenezer Howard
Sir Ebenezer Howard is known for his publication Garden Cities of To-morrow , the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, that realized several Garden Cities in Great Britain at the...
was moving in radical circles which included utopian community builders and land reformers. But the practical link came in 1901 when London lawyer and chairman of the Labour Association, Ralph Neville, was persuaded by Howard to become chair of the Garden City Association (GCA). Neville introduced Howard to a group of wealthy and influential people who had already invested in the Ealing project. By 1903, this group was ready to invest in the Letchworth
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
project. Two years later the link was sealed when Vivian brought in GCA architects Unwin and Parker to work on the Ealing project.