Our history timeline
Below is a full timeline of our history, starting from 1901 and bringing us forward 121 years to 2022, when Optivo and Southern Housing Group merged to become Southern Housing.
- 1901 – Samuel Lewis bequeaths £670,000 to create Samuel Lewis Housing Trust
- 1910 - The first Samuel Lewis Trust Estate comprising of 151 flats was completed at Liverpool Road, Islington
- 1939 - Eight estates had been built using the endowment left by Samuel Lewis
- 1945 - Joan Bartlett founded Hearth and Home Ltd, with the first house ‘The Boltons’ purchased a year later
- 1955 - Maisie Wood founded the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS)
- 1956 - Fundraising drive helped pay off the mortgage for The Boltons
- 1963 – The Samuel Lewis Trust becomes a member of the National Federation of Housing Societies
- 1964 - Three homes at Norbury Crescent formed the foundations for CHAS
- 1967 - South London Family Housing Association (SLFHA) founded
- 1968 - Harding Housing Association founded
- 1971 – Samuel Lewis Trust completes the first warden assisted development.
- 1974 - Hearth and Home Ltd changed its name to Servite Houses Ltd
- 1975 - Crowebridge Housing was established
- 1980 - Margaret Thatcher offered council tenants the right to buy their home
- 1988 - Chelsea Housing Association founded
- 1990 - Servite Houses Ltd changed name to Servite Houses
- 1990 - Swale HA was established after tenants voted for a change of landlord to a housing association
- 1992 - Coastal Counties merges with the Samuel Lewis Trust
- 1992 to 2003 - Battersea Old Peoples Housing Ltd, Chelsea HA Ltd and Harding Housing consolidated into Riverhaven Ltd
- 1995 - Crowebridge Housing became a subsidiary of Swale HA
- 1996 - 1066 Housing Association formed following the transfer of homes from Hastings Borough Council
- 1998 - Rother Homes established
- 1999 - Amicus Group formed
- 2001 - SLFHA changed name to Horizon Housing Group
- 2001 – The Samuel Lewis Trust was renamed Southern Housing Group
- 2002 – South Wight Housing merge with Southern Housing Group
- 2002 - 1066 HA became a subsidiary of Amicus Group
- 2003 – James Butcher Housing Association merge with Southern Housing Group
- 2003-2007 - Servite Houses diversified its business, acquiring assets for use as student halls, NHS keyworker accommodation and hostels
- 2005 - Riverhaven Ltd joined Servite Houses
- 2005 - Southern Space Ltd set up as our developer of market sales homes
- 2006 - Horizon and Amicus merge to form AmicusHorizon
- 2007 - Thames Housing Association merge with Servite Houses
- 2009 - Amicus Horizon and its subsidiaries amalgamated
- 2009 – Southern Housing Group becomes a partner in Triathlon Homes, owning and delivering new homes on the 2012 London Olympic site
- 2010 - Servite changed its name to Viridian Housing
- 2014 – Southern Maintenance Services (SMS) was formed as an in-house team providing day to day repairs
- 2016 - SLDHA joined AmicusHorizon
- 2017 - AmicusHorizon and Viridian amalgamated to form Optivo
- 2019 – Southern Housing Group became Triathlon’s managing agent
- 2020 - Crown Simmons became a subsidiary of Southern Housing Group
- 2022 – Southern Housing Group and Optivo merge to become Southern Housing.
Reflecting on our history
Southern Housing Chief Executive Paul Hackett met George Blunden, a former chair of the Samuel Lewis Housing Trust, shortly after the merger in December 2022,
They caught up at Liverpool Road, Islington, where the first Samuel Lewis Trust Estate featuring 151 flats was completed in 1910.
During a walk around the area, they discussed the homes which were built over a century ago and looked ahead to the future.
