Celebrating 100 years - Father Basil Jellicoe

08/04/2024

Father Jellicoe, born in Chailey, Sussex, in 1899, was the son of an ordained priest. After graduating from Magdalen College Oxford, he became Missioner at the Magdalen Mission at St Mary’s Church in Somers Town in 1921. He was horrified at the living conditions in the slums of Somers Town, where residents faced terrible poverty and overcrowding. Father Jellicoe saw that the problem required major change and was unsatisfied by the Mission’s attempt to remedy the problem, which would send  children away to the country only for them to return to a home stricken by damp, disease and poor air quality.

In 1924, Father Jellicoe met with Father Percy Maryon-Wilson, Edith Neville and Nora Hill, who were also involved in social work in the area. The group decided to set up a society to improve housing in the area.

Father Jellicoe’s community and welfare approach to housing was fairly unique at the time, and through nation-wide fundraising  tours and his connections to the Oxford College network, he managed to promote The St. Pancras House Improvement Society  across the country.

He founded and edited Housing Happenings, a newsletter for residents which was read by many until it stopped due to WWII. He also went on to found several other housing associations in London, Sussex and Cornwall. 

In spite of his raw enthusiasm for housing reform, he became less and less involved in the society’s work having become ill in 1931. Father Jellicoe died in August 1935 and was succeeded by Father Nigel Scott who continued to support the fundraising  activities. Despite his early death, the legacy and spirit of the man who had so much time for his community, especially the children, lives on today.