Exhibition: The Devil's in the Detail …A Heritage Building Restoration

Oxford House was established in 1884 as the first Settlement House to open. Students and graduates from Keble College, Oxford undertook a period of residential volunteering to learn first-hand about the realities of urban poverty.

Volunteers provided practical support to alleviate the impact of poverty to the local community by creating projects such as youth clubs, poor man’s lawyer, labour exchanges and adult education classes.

Today, Oxford House continues to serve the community of Bethnal Green from its lovely (though slightly creaking) Grade II listed building that overlooks Derbyshire Street Pocket Park and Weaver’s Fields. Sadly, the building was placed on the Buildings at Risk Register by Historic England due to the damage being caused by rainwater coming through a very old roof.

To remedy this a major new project, ‘From Victorian Gap Year to Community Hub’ was launched and over £2.5m raised with the support from Heritage Lottery Fund, Tower Hamlets Council, Power to Change and Wakefield and Tetley/Tower Hill Trusts, along with over 170 other supporters. Redevelopment began in late 2017 and is now nearing completion.

In a major project to restore an old building such as Oxford House attention to detail is key. With this in mind Oxford House CEO and photographer Keith Greenough embarked on a joint photographic project to document the redevelopment. This exhibition, THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAIL, is the result of their work.

All of the framed photographs are for sale with the proceeds going to the Oxford House Redevelopment fund.