History

The Settlement Movement began in the early 1880s as a response to the urban poverty and social problems caused by industrialisation. This movement looked to the creation of "settlement houses" which offered social services targeted towards the urban poor.

Britain's oldest settlements, Oxford House and Toynbee Hall, are both bassac members and were founded in east London in 1884.

bassac began life as the Federation of Residential Settlements, set up in 1920. This was renamed the British Association of Settlements in 1967, and later changed to the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres (bassac) in 1978.

Though our name has changed over the years our purpose of supporting people and sustaining communities in areas of deprivation hasn’t.

Read our fascinating history - The Past, the Passion and the Potential.