Reassessing voluntary action in English housing provision post 1900

This article considers the public and voluntary sector relationship in hous ing provision from an historical and social science perspective. It pays pa rticular attention to models based on markets, hierarchies and networks and presents an overview of voluntary action and state intervention In English housing since 1900. The article focuses on housing agencies with charitabl e status, and on three periods - pre-1914, the 1950s and the 1970s. For the first two periods, the emphasis is on the William Sutton Trust, England's largest house-building charity. In the latter period, attention shifts to S helter, founded in 1967 and the most successful of the homelessness chariti es. In these case studies, the role of the courts, charity commissioners, g overnment legal officers, Ministries responsible for housing, parliament an d local authorities are discussed. The importance of attempts to politicise charity law and charitable status throughout the twentieth century is unde rlined. Central government is shown to play a significant part in this proc ess, legitim ising its preferred response from local authorities and volunt ary agencies. A hierarchical interpretation of state Intervention is temper ed, however, by stressing the significance of unintended consequences atten ding central government's successive interventions in housing provision.