Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Emily Gee on "Hostel, House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian Working Woman" (Liverpool UP, 2025)

Date: October 15, 2025
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Emily Gee

Overview

In this episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher interviews Emily Gee, author of "Hostel, House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian Working Woman." Gee’s book delves into the overlooked architectural and social history of where Britain’s working women lived as they entered the workforce in large numbers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The conversation explores the intersection of gender, class, architecture, and social reform, unpacking how housing both reflected and shaped the experiences and aspirations of these pioneering women.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Author Background and Genesis of the Book

• Emily Gee’s Motivation:

  • Gee has worked extensively in historic building conservation, with a strong interest in the human stories embedded in architecture.
  • Her time at Smith College, an all-women’s environment, sparked a fascination with the sense of camaraderie and the way architecture supports collective living.

    "That extraordinary kind of camaraderie and sisterhood that comes from being in a building with—living in a building with—60 other women [...] was something that stuck with me." (03:12)

• Discovery Process:

  • A research stint in Bloomsbury led Gee to discover hidden women’s hostels and "chambers" in London.
  • Archival photos and building plans revealed the breadth of these residences, inspiring her to tell their story.

2. Campaigners, Class, and Early Housing Solutions

• Key Campaigners:

  • Women like Mary Higgs in Oldham were crucial in highlighting the risks faced by working women, especially homelessness and unsafe lodging.
  • Early interventions ranged from Christian charities (YWCA, Girls’ Friendly Society) to undercover investigations into lodging house conditions.

• Class Divisions:

  • Housing initiatives were heavily class-conscious:

    "...flower sellers and laundresses...would absolutely have to be housed separately from secretaries and shop assistants." (07:48)

  • This division shaped both the provision and the physical layout of accommodations (e.g., separate entrances, class-specific hostels).

• Initial Housing Models:

  • Adaptation of existing buildings (e.g., converting townhouses for collective female lodging).
  • Early philanthropic and Christian organizations experimented with communal living, but always within contemporary class boundaries.

3. Municipal vs. Private Provision: London and Beyond

• London’s Role:

  • Despite London’s size and demand, its municipal authorities lagged in providing women's working accommodation:

    “London was definitely behind in terms of municipal provision ... other cities managed to do that.” (13:06)

  • Conversely, London led in architect-designed, business-minded hostels funded privately.

• Exemplary Cases Outside London:

  • Ashton House, Manchester (1910): Designed by the city architect, housed 220 working-class women, demonstrating municipal success elsewhere.

4. Architectural Models: Learning from Men’s Housing

• Men’s Lodging Houses as Templates:

  • Women's hostels borrowed concepts like private cubicles and communal reading or dining rooms, though usually without amenities like smoking rooms.
  • Scale was a differentiator: men's accommodations like Rowton House could serve 1,000; the largest women’s hostels held around 220.

• Unique Features in Women’s Hostels:

  • Emphasis on communal spaces for mutual support, reflecting societal expectations and the challenges of single women living in cities.

    "...the clear distinction really is this area of sort of building empowering spaces where... women were together, supporting one another..." (19:14)

5. The Explosion of Purpose-Built Hostels (circa 1900)

• Turning Point:

  • Dramatic workforce growth (e.g., women clerks rising from 279 in 1861 to 124,000 by 1911) created a housing “crisis.”
  • Emergence of purpose-built, business-like hostels and "chambers" with limited-dividend funding companies.

• Notable Buildings and Details:

  • Sloane Gardens House (Chelsea): For 150 women, stately design, part of the Ladies Associated Dwellings Company.
  • Communal Domesticity: Mix of tiny personal spaces and large sitting/dining rooms styled to resemble a “middle-class home,” with details such as writing tables, pianos, and wicker chairs.

6. Geographic and Social Diversity

• Within London:

  • No uniform regulation but clear “flavour” by area, as proximity to workplaces influenced resident professions (e.g., dressmakers in Fitzrovia, clerks in Pimlico, artists in Chelsea).
  • Company Hostels: Some department stores (e.g., Bourne & Hollingsworth in Bloomsbury) built their own residences for female employees.

• Census Insights:

  • Hostels could be cosmopolitan, hosting international residents, various professions, ages averaging 25.

7. Comparative Perspectives: The U.S.

• Similarities & Differences:
  • Major U.S. cities followed similar trajectories (conversion, then construction), but hostels were often much larger—e.g., the Martha Washington Hotel (New York, 1903) and Barbizon Hotel (1926).
  • U.S. models leaned more toward the hotel format and accepted philanthropic funding more openly.
  • Notable American architect Julia Morgan built many women’s hostels, including features like swimming pools (rare in London).

8. Transformations: War, Suburbs, and the Modern Era

• World Wars:

  • Many hostels repurposed during WWI (sometimes for soldiers), with rules relaxed due to necessity.

• Interwar Period:

  • Suburban expansion led to more bedsits and flats, with less emphasis on communal living but still all-women environments.
  • Styles adapted to local neighborhoods—e.g., Neo-Georgian in Hampstead, Tudor-revival in Highgate, modernist designs in West London.

• Contemporary Legacy:

  • Most purpose-built hostels survive, repurposed for various uses: flats, NHS staff housing, homeless accommodation, even a Fitzrovia art gallery.

    "It's wonderful that one can walk or cycle around the streets of London and find these buildings carrying on their lives in quite a different way." (44:55)

  • Gee advocates for making the heritage of these buildings known to new occupants, highlighting the model’s potential relevance for today's urban housing.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scale of transformation:

  “In 1861 there were 279 women working as clerks... by 1911 there were 124,000.” (22:30)

• On communal living:

  “Tiny rooms but large sitting rooms and dining rooms where women could come together. And I think that's the clear distinction really is this area of... empowering spaces where ... women were together, supporting one another.” (19:13)

• On architectural adaptation:

  “It's lovely because it shows how eminently adaptable these kind of buildings are and that we can really keep them and work with them and for new uses.” (44:22)

• On urban exploration today:

  “I sort of want to go walk around some of these neighbourhoods again and go, oh, okay, hang on, this is what's going on here.” (04:44, Melcher)

Important Timestamps

• 03:12 — Emily Gee on Smith College and early influences
• 05:40–09:55 — Victorian/Edwardian campaigns, class divisions, and early housing solutions
• 13:05–15:34 — London’s successes & failures vs. cities like Manchester and Glasgow
• 19:10–20:38 — Design and social aims of women's hostels; comparison to men’s models
• 22:30–24:00 — Statistical context: explosion of women in the workforce and housing “crisis”
• 26:58–32:41 — Detailed description of hostel interiors, social and domestic life
• 33:18–37:44 — Neighborhood diversity and profession-based clustering in London
• 38:05–41:28 — American parallels, architectural scale, and Julia Morgan’s work
• 41:43–44:06 — The impact of world wars and suburbanization
• 44:19–48:03 — Survival and reuse of buildings, implications for future urban housing

Further Reading & Closing Thoughts

• Legacy and Relevance: Gee notes the lasting adaptability of these historic buildings and their potential as models for empowering, communal urban living today.
• Potential Next Projects: Gee hints at future research on vernacular women-built housing in Zambia and ongoing work with church buildings.

"People and buildings—it's compelling and it's something I'd like to keep doing and working with others on." (48:44)

Book Information:
Hostel, House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian Working Woman by Emily Gee (Liverpool University Press, 2025)