Dame Alice Owen

Dame Alice Owen (1547-1613) was born in Islington. Following the death of her third husband, she bought land in Islington and Clerkenwell to build hospitals, schools, chapels and almshouses, all serving poorer communities, especially widowed and working-class women. In her will, she left large sums of money to the maintenance of these lands. Owen laid foundations in Islington of serving the poor and helping the less fortunate. Her schools, Dame Alice Owen and Owen’s School, still stand today.