New Report (June 2026)
What comes to mind when you think of Victorian workhouses, the last refuge for the destitute and homeless?
Harsh, dirty and unsafe. Family separations. Ideas of “deservingness” restricting access to help. Hard labour.
Only one of those doesn’t apply to temporary accommodation in modern England. Why has so little changed in nearly 200 years?
Drawing on original archival research, Lifelines answers that question and argues that the only way forward for short, safe and healthy temporary accommodation is substantial reform: a new legislative framework for TA. No exclusions, no exemptions, no more appalling conditions.
Download the report here: www.justlife.org.uk/our-work/research-and-policy/lifelines
New book (Sept 2025)
In 2017, my parents faced eviction from their 1950s ex-Coal Board estate in Leeds. What began as a family campaign to save their home became a half decade investigation into how Britain came to treat its tenants as disposable – and why it has always been this way.
Eviction: A Social History of Rent traces 150 years of rent, eviction, and resistance, recovering the stories of the people who fought back.
Published by Verso, September 2025.
About me
I’m a prize-winning interdisciplinary researcher and activist writer working on social justice issues. I write about the UK housing crisis, tenant resistance, and homelessness.
What I do
Research & writing: Historical research and long-form writing on housing insecurity, homelessness, and welfare policy in Britain.
Events & talks: Available for panels, festivals, and public lectures on housing, eviction, temporary accommodation and social history.
Freelance support: I work with organisations as a researcher, editor, and grant writer.
Please do get in touch!
Dr Jessica Field 