The History of
The Wimbledon Guild

In 1870, the Charity Organisation Society founded several local branches in order to combat poverty in the cities of Britain. The Wimbledon branch formed the nucleus for the Guild of Help, which came into being in 1907 to "minister to the needs of the honest poor".

The Charity Organisation Society had been based on principles of the Elberfeld System, imported from Germany to the town of Bradford, in the mid Nineteenth century. This method involved a study of the conditions that produced distress so that volunteers could help people out of their immediate crisis to recover "their independence and self respect". Personal service was seen as the truest form of charity. The Guild of Help, in carrying on with these principles, identified and helped 311 cases in the year 1907.

Before the First World War the Guild became very involved with the condition of children within the Borough, many of whom would beg food from the shops in the Broadway. In conjunction with the N.S.P.C.C. the situation was closely monitored. By the time of the outbreak of war, the Guild was dealing annually with 3,000 enquiries.