Philanthropy is defined in the Oxford Dictionary
as “The desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by
generous donation to good causes.” Etymologically
it means “love of humanity”. To put it simply it can be seen as the act of a
wealthy person who gives their time and money to make life a little better for
others. It is a private individual’s
donation for public good. A person who behaves in this way is known as a
philanthropist.
Early Victorian Britain was a time of
dramatic social change. The emergence of large factories led to the growth of
new cities where people flocked in search of work. To give you an example
Liverpool grew from a large village of 4,240 inhabitants in 1701 to a huge city,
home to 222,954 by 1841. The infrastructure of these new cities could not cope
with the influx of people and death and disease were rampant. It has been
argued that the 1830’s and 1840’s were the worst decades for life expectancy in
Britain since the Black Death. Of course the insanitary conditions of the homes
of the working class allowed disease to spread quickly and their life
expectancy was less than half of wealthy landowners.
By the late 19th Century we see
a growth in rich industrialist philanthropists who can be seen to improve the living
conditions of their workers. One of the pioneers was Sir Titus Salt (1803 –
1876). He took over his fathers’ textile mill in Bradford and expanded the
business, making it the largest employer in the area. He then set about building
a model village for his workers to live in called Saltaire, which is just
outside Bradford. The new houses all had their own toilets and were connected
to mains drainage. It was a wonderful place to live with bath houses, a
hospital, a church and an institute for recreation. Life here was so much
better than in the Bradford slums.
Similar model villages were constructed by
the Quaker confectionary dynasties the Cadburys and the Rowntrees. The Cadbury brothers, George and Richard, had
a vision of a garden village when creating Bournville, which is just outside Birmingham.
As well as providing decent affordable housing they were concerned for the
fitness of their workers and included parks and encouraged walking, swimming
and all outdoor pursuits.
Joseph Rowntree built a similar village called
New Earswick in 1901, but is perhaps best well known for forming and funding
the Joseph Rowntree foundation which is still working to reduce child poverty
in Britain today.
And it wasn’t just the chocolatiers who got involved. Another
well known model village is Port Sunlight, built by the Lever brothers to be
the home of their soap empire. They named the village after their most popular
brand of cleaner.
Port Sunlight
It was the philanthropy
of the new rich that helped shape the lives of the British people. It can be
argued that the good works carried out by these philanthropists hastened a
greater concern for the conditions endured by the working classes in the UK,
resulting in the creation of the welfare state, which provided free education
and healthcare for all, and affordable housing for workers.
Even though these
companies are no longer family run concerns, but are now part of huge multi-national
organisations, their products are still very popular today. Who doesn’t enjoy a
bar of Cadburys’ fruit and nut? 
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