Six Penn’orth of Hope: Gambling and the Rowntree Trusts Sue Mendus
Event details
In 1911, the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust was publicly denounced as a ‘moral cesspool of cant and hypocrisy’. The catalyst? It was alleged that newspapers owned by the Trust published prophecies (horse racing tips) which critics argued encouraged gambling – a significant contributor to poverty and deprivation.
Using material from the Trust’s archive, Sue Mendus of the University of York asks why the Trust allowed prophecies to be published in its newspapers - and how the Trust responded to the virulent attacks led by the Spectator and the prominent Quaker, Sir Edward Fry.
Image credit: Borthwick Institute for Archives
About the speaker
Sue Mendus is Morrell Professor Emerita, University of York, and former Director of the Morrell Centre for Toleration. She has published widely on topics in modern and historical political philosophy with a special emphasis on toleration. In 2004, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and from 2008 to 2012 she was Vice President (Social Sciences) of the Academy. She is a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and in 2012 was awarded a CBE for services to Political Science. From 2016 to 2025, Sue was a Director of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. She has also been a member of the North Committee of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and is a guide at York MInster.
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