Irene Barclay (1894–1989), née Martin, was the first woman to qualify in England as a chartered surveyor, and was a noted campaigner for social housing.

Life

Irene Barclay was the daughter of a socialist and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

Congregationalist minister and the first Woman in Britain to qualify as a chartered surveyor. Born in Hereford, she gained a 1st class degree in History in 1916, followed by a Diploma in Social Science, both at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a lead ...

. Following the passage of the Sex Disqualification Removal Act 1919 she was able to sit her final exams with the

College of Estate Management The University College of Estate Management (abbreviated to UCEM), formerly the College of Estate Management (CEM) is an independent UK-based higher education institution which provides courses by distance learning for people in the real estate dev ...

(now the

University College of Estate Management The University College of Estate Management (abbreviated to UCEM), formerly the College of Estate Management (CEM) is an independent UK-based higher education institution which provides courses by distance learning for people in the real estate d ...

) in 1922. Barclay was at the time of her qualification working for the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...

as housing manager, managing its working class housing estates near

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

Career

Barclay established a surveying practice with professional partner Evelyn Perry, who qualified the year after her. Barclay and Perry traded until 1940. Irene continued to practise until 1972, marking 50 years in the profession. Although Barclay had a general surveying practice she 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. This was founded in Somers Town by the Anglican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Basil Jellicoe and Barclay provided it with stability over her long tenure as its Secretary. The Association later worked elsewhere in North London and Barclay was always a consultant, never employee of the Association. Her pioneering social and housing surveys in the 1920s drew the attention of the middle classes to the plight of slum dwellers including Somers Town, Pimlico, North Kensington and Edinburgh as described in her memoirs, combining physical survey of the properites such as disrepair and lack of amenities with human aspects such as tenure, rents and overcrowding. Barclay, who has been described as ‘Irene, the patron of the poor’,was appointed an OBE for her significant and valuable work as a social reformer.RICS ''Irene Barclay FRICS: Social housing pioneer'' Barclay subsequently played a leading role in the foundation of a number of housing associations in the 1920s and 1930s, including Kensington Housing Trust,

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

Housing Trust,

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, ...

Housing Society and

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...

Housing Society. Most of these were established on the basis of her surveys of property and housing conditions. Barclay was also a founding member of the Association of Women Housing Workers which later merged into what is today the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Personal life

She married John Barfield Barclay (c 1897–1966), sometime staff member of the Peace Pledge Union and of International Help for Children. On retirement Barclay went to live in Canada, where she died. She is commemorated in the Somers Town Mural in Camden. Irene Barclay was sister of

Kingsley Martin Basil Kingsley Martin (28 July 1897 – 16 February 1969) usually known as Kingsley Martin, was a British journalist who edited the left-leaning political magazine the ''New Statesman'' from 1930 to 1960. Early life He was the son of (Dav ...

, long-time editor of the

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Irene 1894 births 1989 deaths English surveyors People educated at Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls Alumni of University College of Estate Management