Oxford House in Bethnal Green

Oxford House is a community arts and heritage charity based in Bethnal Green. From being founded as a settlement house for University of Oxford graduates in 1884 to serving as the campaigning hub for anti-racist and anti-fascist activism in the 1970s, our history is as vast and diverse as the communities we serve.

Our archive consists of around 365 paper folders, 11 digital folders, over 3000 photoprints, negatives and slides, 140 digital image files and much more. Dating from the late 19th century to present, it covers the history of the settlement house’s founding, the use of the house throughout the years by different communities in the local areas, and the papers of tenant organisations who have used our building to campaign and organise in Tower Hamlets. Around 10,000 pages of archive material is digitised on our website and the rest is viewable in person.