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The report of the medical officer of health of Kensington refers to proceedings under this Act
in respect of an area in Kensington known as the James-street area, which the vestry had resolved to
improve by scheme. The Council expressed the opinion that the scheme was not one to which they
should be called on to contribute. The medical officer of health reports that 22 houses in this area were
closed under the Act. The need of improvement of the Bell-lane area in Whitechapel is insisted on by
the medical officer of health of Whitechapel.
Houses let in lodgings.
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891, made a material alteration in the law relating to houses
let in lodgings. Under the Sanitary Act, 1866, sanitary authorities were empowered to regulate these
houses. Under the Act of 1891 the making and enforcement of regulations was made obligatory upon
sanitary authorities. Many authorities had made regulations under the Act of 1866, but these regulations
were often not enforced, and the powers conferred by the Act of 1866 had therefore been but
• little exercised. The passing of the Act of 1891 led some authorities to review the regulations which
had already been made, and the year 1893 was in many districts devoted to revising existing and the
preparation of new regulations.
The annual reports of the medical officers of health supply the following information as to the
work of sanitary authorities in connection with this subject. In Kensington 1,800 houses were on the
register, and the vestry had new by-laws under consideration. In Hammersmith new by-laws were
under consideration. In Fulham new by-laws were made. In St. George, Hanover-square, 73
additional houses were registered. In St. James, Westminster, 34 houses were on the register. In
Marylebone 3,488 inspections of registered houses were made. In Hampstead 1,107 houses were on
the register. In St. Pancras 164 houses were on the register. In Hackney by-laws had not been
made. In St. Giles 478 houses were on the register. In St. Martin-in-the-Fields a special inspector
was appointed for the purpose of inspecting houses let in lodgings. In St. George-in-the-East 29
houses were on the register. In Limehouse by-laws were adopted. In St. Saviour's, Southwark,
by-laws were adopted and confirmed. In St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark, by-laws were adopted
and awaited confirmation. In Bermondsey 312 houses were on the register. In Battersea by-laws
were made and confirmed. In Woolwich the revision of the existing by-laws was under consideration.
In Plumstead the making of by-laws was under consideration. In several districts in which by-laws
were in force, notices were served or proceedings instituted in reference to particular premises.
Common lodging-houses.
In my last report I stated that the subject of the supervision of common lodging-houses had
been under the consideration of the Council during the year, and that, on the recommendation of the
Public Health Committee, the Council expressed the opinion that there should be annual registration,
that the regulations should be made by the Council, and enforced by the sanitary authorities instead of
by the police, and that the right of entry possessed by the police should be retained. Later, a deputation
of the Committee conveyed the views of the Council to the Home Secretary, who, in the following
year (1893) communicated to the Council his intention to transfer to the Council, by provisional order,
the powers of the Commissioner of Police relating to such houses.
During the year 1893 a common lodging-house for men, provided by the Council, was opened
for the reception of inmates. The house contains provision for 324 persons, and is erected on the
Shelton-street area, cleared under the Artizans' and Dwellings Improvement Act, 1875, by the
Metropolitan Board of Works. This area, before being cleared, contained a number of lodging-houses
used for this purpose.
Underground rooms.
The reports of medical officers of health show that in many districts underground rooms
were found which were illegally occupied, and proceedings were instituted for the discontinuance of
such occupation. Thus the number of such rooms dealt with in the following districts were—
Paddington, 5; Chelsea, 16; St. George, Hanover-square, 6; St. James, Westminster, 17; St.
Pancras, 53 ; Islington, 17; St. Giles, 38; Strand, 33; Holborn, 127; Clerkenwell, 82; St. Luke,
36 ; Bethnal-green, 3 ; Whitechapel, 42 ; St. George-in-the-East, 55 ; Mile-end Old-town, 28 ; Poplar,
3; St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark, 10; Bermondsey, 5; Lambeth, 36; Greenwich, 8.
Workshops.
In my last report I referred to an inspection made by Dr. Hamer of workshops in Mile-end
Old-town, Whitechapel, St. George-in-the-East, Bethnal-green, and the Strand. The number of workshops
in the Strand which he had then inspected was very trifling, and in March, 1893, therefore, he
made a further inquiry as to workshops in that district, and included in his inspection a number of
workshops in St. James, Westminster, the neighbourhood of Soho being selected for the purpose of
investigation. Dr. Hamer found that the houses inspected were not originally intended for use as
workshops; and that while, as a rule, they were in good repair and clean, and in a few cases the rooms
were lofty and well lighted, the workroom was frequently used for sleeping purposes, and the provision
of water-closets was inadequate. In respect to overcrowding, although this condition was found to
exist on certain premises, the workshops of Soho compared favourably with those of Whitechapel and
Mile-end. Even when there had been no infringement of the standard (250 cubic feet per head) usually
enforced, Dr. Hamer frequently found the air of the workrooms close and oppressive, and he was led
to conclude that " even when the air in the rooms occupied to this extent is renewed three or four times
an hour, the amount of carbonic acid pollution must necessarily be considerable, and when no special
means of ventilation are provided such frequent removal is impracticable. Under the conditions which
were found to obtain in the workshops visited, it is unlikely that the air of the rooms was renewed
more often than once or at most twice per hour, and under these circumstances, pollution to a very