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mentioned run parallel to one another, and the courts and alleys
lay between them, yet they were so ill-arranged for the purposes of
light, air and ventilation that in no case was there any direct
communication between the streets. It is true that it was possible
to walk from one street to the other, but this was through such
narrow and tortuous passages that no through current of air could
possibly be obtained. The houses were old and dilapidated, and
where yards existed they were of the most inadequate description.
Indeed, the chief objection urged to the area as a whole was on the
ground of the almost total lack of means of ventilation therein.
The scheme for the improvement of the area was approved and
sealed by the Board in pursuance of the resolution of 27th October,
1876. The necessary advertisements were then duly issued, and a
petition forwarded to the Secretary of State. A local enquiry as to
the correctness of the official representations and the sufficiency of
the scheme was held by Mr. D. Cubitt Nichols on behalf of the
Secretary of State, on 14th, 19th, & 23rd April, 1877. As a result
of this enquiry the Secretary of State of 17th May, 1877 issued a
provisional order confirming the scheme. This order contained an
agreement which had been come to between the Board and Messrs.
De la Bue & Co., whose business premises adjoined the area. By
this agreement the square block of property at the corner of Coleman
Street and Bunhill Bow, and the block comprising George's
Court were excluded from the operation of the scheme on
condition that they were acquired by Messrs. Be la Rue & Co., and
that sufficient land was given up by them for the widening of
Coleman Street to 40 ft., and the widening of Chequer Alley to its
existing width at its eastern end. The provisional order was then
confirmed in due course by Act of Parliament on 23rd July, 1877.
Taking into account the property dealt with in the agreement above
described, the scheme as confirmed included practically the whole
of the areas referred to in the three official representations.
In all 3,687 persons were to be displaced, and of these 56
inhabited registered lodging houses. Accommodation for not less
than 3,838 was required to be provided on the cleared area, and in
connection with the necessary dwellings, provision was to be made