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3 bushels to 15 bushels. Almost without exception the ovens are
of the old fashioned brick kind, with side fires and top flues.
Position and Construction.— Generally it may be said that the
aboveground Bakehouses are situated at the back of the house,
on the ground floor, occupying part or all of the original yard
space ; and the underground Bakehouses are situated under the
shop, in the front, below the footway. With several exceptions
the construction or position of all the 69 Bakehouses is open
to criticism, and many of them to very grave criticism.
Confining ourselves to the underground Bakehouses it must be
said that in addition to their unsatisfactory position the Bakehouses
are as a rule of ill-construction. The height with few
exceptions is less than eight feet, and in some instances is not
much more than six. In no case out of the 46 is the height
three feet above ground. The entrance is by means of a more or
less awkward staircase or ladder. The walls are generally
limewashed, and the windows and ventilators small, and, as a
rule, closed. The troughs are, with one or two exceptions,
fixed. The flour is kept stored in the Bakehouse or in a cellar
off the Bakehouse. In a number of cases there is no proper
ceiling, the joists and floor boards of the ground floor being left
bare in the Bakehouse.
Light.— It is obvious that underground Bakehouses will be
deficient in light. In practice this means, first, uncleanliness, and
secondly, artificial illumination. The former is detrimental to
the bread and the latter to the workers. In 22 of the 46 underground
Bakehouses the light is extremely bad, in half-a-dozen of
them the gas is always required; in 18 the light is fair; and
in six it is good and sufficient. In one the artificial illumination
is electric.
Cleanliness.—There can be no doubt that the owners of underground
Bakehouses in Finsbury have, in the last few years, made
a geat effort to maintain a high standard of cleanliness. The
limewashing is more or less regularly done, and the floors are
kept fairly clean. There are, unhappily, exceptions to this rule.