Brief History of QSA

Quaker Social Action (BIA) is the modern name of the Bedford Institute Association that has been tackling deprivation in London's East End since 1867. Named after the Spitalfields silk merchant, Peter Bedford (1780-1864), the early Association was in fact an amalgamation of three separate Quaker initiatives to alleviate the squalor endured by the poor of London in Victorian times. Peter Bedford himself was particularly concerned for the plight of poor youngsters, who were often liable to the death penalty for petty thefts.

The early Association had four aims: Education (children's Sunday schools, and adult schools as state provision was not introduced until 1870); Religious Efforts (mission churches); Moral Training (including temperance meetings, penny banks and lending libraries); and Relief of the sick and destitute. The style was evangelical, and by the end of the century there were eight branches of the BIA in south and east London.

As the BIA entered the 20th century, the branches applied themselves to the nurturing of healthy citizens. They became places of refuge from the overcrowding and slums of East End streets, for unemployed men, and women with children. Group activities were encouraged, and by the 1920's and 30's, summer camps and outings were regularly offered to help people get away from the city for a week.

The Second World War had a massive impact on East London as it was the focus of intensive bombing raid, and therefore it also had a massive impact on BIA. A number of BIA buildings were destroyed, and many of the inner city communities were displaced. The new post-war flats, new jobs, and new social legislation gave East Enders an improved standard of living based on rights rather than charity, and much of the previous work of the BIA seemed outdated. Several buildings had to be sold.

A re-launch in 1972 gave rise to projects concerned with ex-offenders and employment training. One of these still exists today in a modified form (Ozone Friends), but it was only in the late 1980's that the organisation began to grow rapidly once again, in response to a new, spiralling rise in social deprivation and poverty. To reflect a more modern image and purpose, the BIA was renamed as Quaker Social Action and incorporated as a limited company (as well as a charity) in 1998.

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Charity Registration No: 1069157 · Company Registration No: 3524063