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1898] 12
The Housing of the People.—From these statements it can
be easily inferred that Islington is very fully built upon. This is,
indeed, the case, and consequently, as has been frequently pointed out,
it is all the more necessary that in the future, as in the more recent
past, its sanitary condition, especially of its houses, should be very
carefully and anxiously looke 1 after; for it will be more by the crowding
of the people in the existing houses than by building operations, that
greater numbers will find accommodation. This will be met, doubtless,
also by the pulling down of old properties and the erection on their
sites either of large industrial dwellings for the working classes or by
flats for the commercial classes or the more well to do people.
In this connection it would be well not to forget that at the 1891
census 72,652 families or separate occupiers were lodged in 37,875
houses, making nearly two families per house. But matters were
worse than this, and they certainly are no better now, for at that
period, 1891—
28,189 persons lived in 1.roomed tenements or 8.8 per cent. of the population
60,639 „ ,, 2 ,, ,, ,, 19.0 „ „
49,762 „ „ 3 „ „ „ 15.6 „ „
41,740 „ „ 4 „ „ „ 13.1 „
Also that there were 12,856 tenements of 1 room.
16,716 „ „ 2 rooms.
11,806 „ „ 3 „
8,015 „ „ 4 „
From these figures it is at once apparent that—
2.2 persons lived on the average in each 1.roomed tenement.
3.6 ,, ,, ,, ,, 2 „ ,,
4.2 „ ,, „ ,, „ 3 ,, „
5.2 „ ,, ,, „ ,, 4 ,, „
At the first glance it does not appear that these tenements are
over.crowded, nor indeed do the figures indicate that, they are. It is
only when the census tables are further dipped into that this is
discovered.