Octavia Hill Octavia Hill Octavia Hill ( 3 December 1838 – 13 August 1912 ) was an English social reformer , particularly concerned with the welfare of the inhabitants of cities , specifically London , in the second half of the 19th century . She was born in Wisbech , Cambridgeshire , and worked closely with her sister Miranda Hill ( 1836 – 1910 ) , who founded the Kyrle Society . They were both daughters of Mr James Hill and granddaughters of Dr Thomas Southwood Smith , the pioneer of sanitary reform . Hill was a moving force behind the development of social housing , including Council housing , and she also campaigned for the availability of open spaces for poor people , which resulted in the establishment of the National Trust . She was a member of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws in 1905 . Both sisters worked for the preservation of open spaces . She knew a great many notable Victorian artists and writers . To give but one example ; at a party at George MacDonald 's house John Ruskin formally started off a large dance with Octavia Hill as his dancing partner . It was Ruskin who funded her first ventures in housing reform . She was influenced very much by the important theologian , anglican priest and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice . His son Colonel Edmund Maurice edited her letters , which give a good insight into her life . He published Life of Octavia Hill as Told in her Letters ( London , 1913 ) . Her publications include : Homes of the London Poor ( 1875 ) and Our Common Land ( 1877 ) . A monument to Octavia Hill is to be found at a Surrey beauty spot , on the summit of a hill called Hydon Ball ( now owned by the National Trust ) . Shortly after her death , the family erected a stone seat there , from which walkers can enjoy fine views over the Surrey countryside . There is also the Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum in Wisbech . In 1995 , to mark the centenary of the National Trust , a rose was named in her honour . There is an Octavia Hill Society , as well as an Octavia Hill Association , a small , Philadelphia-based real estate company devoted to providing affordable housing to low and middle-income city residents . References Gillian Darley , ‘Hill , Octavia ( 1838–1912 ) ’ , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press , 2004 accessed 4 June 2006 This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition , a publication now in the public domain . External links Octavia Hill Association English pioneer in housing reform Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum Octavia Housing & Care Categories : Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica | 1838 births | 1912 deaths | Natives of Cambridgeshire | English philanthropists | English non-fiction writers 