London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1897

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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St. Pancras.— Five common lodging-houses in this district receive women, and in only one house are men also received. The charges are as follows—

Common lodging-house.Single women.Doubles.
1466d15 2s.
2306d.
3266d. and 8d.
473s. per week.
5103s. per week.

The first house is an ordinary house three storeys in height, with basement. The second and
third are large houses of the kind usually found in the better streets of Bloomsbury, with large and
lofty rooms. The fourth and fifth are smaller houses, only partially used for lodgers, the fifth having
a " general shop " on the ground floor.
In the first house the women appeared to be largely of one class, in the second, some were said to
be dressers in the theatre, in the third two or three were said to work at laundries, in the fourth and
fifth, the women were distinctly servants out of employment. These houses are used chiefly by the
keepers for their own purposes, but who have furnished in their respective houses one and four rooms
for lodgers. In the third it was stated that the house was fullest in summer.
In the first three houses the basement rooms are used as kitchens, that in the first house being
dark, in the others well lighted; in the other two houses the lodgers take their meals in basement
kitchens occupied by the keepers. It was stated that the men and women in the doubles of the first
house were not permitted to use the kitchens.
The water-closets in all are situated in the yards or areas. In the first house the washhouse,
which has four fixed basins with cold water laid on and two wash-tubs, is a lean-to in the back area ;
in the second, four similar basins and two wash-tubs are provided in the basement, which was formerly
part of the kitchen; in the third the back kitchen is used as a washhouse, but in the rooms with
the higher-priced beds washhand-stands are provided in the dormitories ; in the fourth and fifth the
lodgers wash in their bedrooms.
The bedsteads are iron, and in the last four houses the cleanliness of the beds was distinctly
above the average.

St. Giles.— There are only three lodging-houses receiving women in this district, and only single women are provided for in each. The numbers accommodated and the charges are as follows—

Common lodging-house.Single women.Charge.
11085d.
2566d.
3516d.

The first is a double row of old cottages in a court, the whole of the court being thus occupied.
The partition walls of some of the cottages have been removed, and the rooms thrown together. The
second common lodging-house consists of two adjoining houses three stories in height with basement.
The third consists of two houses three stories in height with basement, the whole of one house and the
rooms above the ground floor of the next being used as common lodging-houses, the ground floor
of the latter is used as a general shop. These last houses adjoin houses occupied by the same keeper
and used for men. The inmates were said to include women employed in the market, hawkers,
tailoresses, dressmakers, &c., and were described for the most part as regulars. It was stated that the
first and third houses are most full in summer and the second in winter. Children are not received.
The dormitories of the first common lodging-house are situated on the upper floors with the
exception of one which is on the ground floor. They are low pitched, and those on each side of the
court communicate with each other. In the second the ground and upper floors are used as dormitories
together with a large room on the ground floor of a building in the back of the yard. In the
third the dormitories are arranged in a similar manner, but the first floor of one of the two houses is
occupied by single men who enter it from the corresponding rooms in the adjoining house and have
no communication with the rest of the house occupied by women.
The bedsteads are iron, and furnished with the usual shaving or straw mattresses, with flock
beds.
Kitchens.—The kitchen in the first is on the ground floor ; in the second there are two kitchens,
one in the basement of the original house, the other in the basement of the building at the back of the
yard. In the third house the one basement, which is included in the common lodging-house, is used
as kitchen.
Water-closets.—The water-closets of the first house are situated in a yard which was previously
the site of one of the cottages demolished for this purpose. In the second and third the water-closets
are situated in the back yard or area.
Washhouse.—The washhouse of the first house is situated in a part of the ground floor of one
of the buildings, and has five fixed basins with cold water laid on and three wash-tubs. The back
basement room of the second house is used as a washhouse, and has fixed basins with cold water laid
on, together with two wash-tubs, and further provision is made in the back-yard or area. In the
third the back part of the basement kitchen is provided with a sink and loose basins, and used as
a washhouse.
Woolwich.—There are eleven common lodging-houses in Woolwich which receive women, each
of these houses also containing accommodation for doubles or single men, or both.