Tribute to Octavia’s torch-bearer

A prime mover behind Octavia Hill’s campaigning vision for social reform is set to join the pantheon of heroes in the garden of the house where she was born.

A plaque commemorating Octavia’s mother, Caroline Southwood Hill, is to be unveiled at Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House at 7 South Brink, Wisbech, on Saturday (April 28) – and the ceremony will be performed by Mr James Cash, the president of the Octavia Hill Society and a great great nephew of the celebrated social reformer and co-founder of the National Trust.

Octavia described herself as a disciple of her mother and demonstrated this by proving that the health of a society was dependent on social inclusion and that everybody needed to feel a sense of belonging.

The unveiling of the memorial in Heroes’ Arcade will follow a talk on Caroline Southwood Hill by James’s wife, Susan Cash, which launches a series of Saturday afternoon lectures at the museum on the sisterhood of women who laboured alongside Octavia Hill, and the event starts at 2pm.

Each of the presentations will fit into a one-hour slot, which will include half an hour for questions, and people attending will be asked to make a minimum donation of £1.