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87
The attached plate shows two of the three houses in. Stratton
Place, on the left hand of the reader. The plate also illustrates in
an admirable manner the way in which the back yards of houses
become built over and otherwise destroyed, so far as they act as
agencies of ventilation and free access of air to the backs of the
houses. Generally speaking such additional buildings are used for
workshop purposes.
Another neighbouring court is Francis Court which leads off
Berkley Street. It is a cul de sac and originally contained 15
houses, but several, viz., from Nos. 11 to 15 inclusive, have recently
been pulled down and warehouses are being erected on the site.
At the end of this court Albion Cottages (two) stand in a short
narrow passage. Both houses have three rooms, one above the
other. They are very old and dilapidated and have neither yards
nor through ventilation, except a small window about a foot
square on the staircase. There are some 13 persons living in these
two cottages.
8, Union Place, Clerkenwell Close, is a well-known cul de sac about
67 ft. long, 6 ft. 2 in. wide at the extreme end, and 8 ft. 9 in. wide in
its widest part. It is approached through a tunnel or arched way
23 ft. long, 3 ft. 3in. wide, and 8 ft. high. There are seven houses
in this court, 4 of which contain 2 rooms each, the others 3 rooms
each; in every case the rooms are one above the other. The houses
have no back yards and no through ventilation. The sanitary
conveniences and dustbin are for the common use of the occupiers,
who number 37 persons.
These properties are sufficient evidence to show that there
remains much work to be done in the direction of alteration,
closure, or of clearance. It is unnecessary at present to suggest
definitely the line of action the Council should adopt with regard to
these properties. All that is advisable at this stage is to draw the
attention of the Council to the fact that in various parts of the
Borough there are dwelling-houses of a similar nature to that set
forth above, and which are indications of the necessity which exists