Francis Herbert Stead (1857 – 14 January 1928), commonly cited as F. H. Stead, was a British social reformer notable for the establishment of Browning Hall in London, 1895, and for his work on the National Committee of Organised Labour which waged a decade-long campaign for the introduction of a general tax-funded system of old-age pensions from 1899.

Biography

Francis Herbert Stead was born in 1857 in Howdon, near

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered by Ne ...

, in the north-east of England, the son of a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister, the Rev William Stead, and Isabella (née Jobson), a cultivated daughter of a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

farmer. For a time Francis followed in the footsteps of his older brother

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, a campaigning journalist. Later he took a

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theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1881 and trained there for the ministry. He thereafter studied in Germany and travelled in Europe. He was the Minister of Gallowtree Gate Congregational Church, Leicester, from 1884 to 1890, during which period he married Bessie MacGregor, a school teacher. They had two daughters and two sons. Stead moved to London to assume the editorship of the ''Independent and Nonconformist'' from 1890 to 1892 and was involved in the

settlement movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity an ...

, which aimed to encourage relatively wealthy, educated and socially advantaged people to live in proximity with the working poor. Perhaps influenced by the model of

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affili ...

and the work of

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

and Henrietta Barnett, in 1894–95 he founded Browning Hall in 1894–95 at 62 Camberwell Road,

Walworth Walworth ( ) is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

. The Robert Browning Settlement provided accommodation for some university educated residents and a relatively large number of autodidacts such as James Keir Hardie. Browning Hall formed a centre for practical experimentation in social change, with a more political emphasis than other contemporary settlements, and became a local centre for trade union activities. Stead's interest in the problems of old-age led to a Browning Hall conference on pensions in December 1898, out of which arose the National Committee of Organised Labour (NECL), which worked to encourage the introduction of old-age pensions funded from general taxation – a campaign won with the passing of the

Old Age Pensions Act 1908 The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 40) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, passed in 1908. The act is one of the foundations of modern soci ...

. Stead worked with Frederick Rogers for a decade, writing pamphlets and books, lobbying parliament and religious leaders, and travelling the length of the country to speak for the cause. Stead died at Blackheath on 14 January 1928.

References

External links

F. Herbert Stead
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stead, Francis Herbert 1857 births 1928 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow British social reformers