Irene Barclay was the first Woman in Britain to qualify as a chartered surveyor

Chartered Surveyor

Chartered Surveyor is the description ofProfessional Members and Fellows of the RICS entitled to use the designation in Commonwealth countries and Ireland...

, following the passage of the Sex Disqualification Removal Act 1919. She was at the time working for the Crown Estate

Crown Estate

In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...

 managing its working class housing estates near Regent's Park

Regent's Park

Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...

.

She had a general surveying practice but is best known for the work her firm did for the St Pancras House Improvements Society (later St Pancras Housing Association) of which she was secretary, started in Somers Town

Somers Town

Somers Town or Somerstown may refer to:*Somers Town, London, a district of London, England*Somerstown, Portsmouth, a district of Portsmouth, England*Somers Town , a film directed by Shane Meadows...

and later working elsewhere in North London. Her pioneering social and housing surveys in the 1920s drew the attention of middle classes to the plight of slum dwellers including Somers Town, Pimlico, North Kensington and Edinburgh as described in her memoirs

She played a leading role in the foundation of a number of housing associations in the 1920s and 1930s, including Kensington Housing Trust, Stepney Housing Trust, Isle of Dogs Housing Society and Bethnal Green Housing Society.

On retirement she went to live in Canada, where she died.