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Cusack Place.
This constitutes the North end of the area. There are 11 houses, two-stories high, 7
consisting of 4 rooms, and 4 of 3 rooms. The measurement from the ground level to the top of
the roof is 20 ft. It is bounded on the North by Snowsfields, the houses of which are 30 to
35 ft. above the level of the court and therefore 10 to 15 ft. higher than the houses in Cusack
Place. On the East the light and air are further restricted by the block dwellings in Hamilton
Square, which are 65 ft. above the level of the court, or 45 ft. above the houses in question.
These dwellings are situated on an average 27 ft. from the fronts of the houses in Cusack Place.
The courtyard in front of the latter, and intervening between it and Hamilton Buildings, is 10 ft.
6 in. wide, and bounded by a wall 7 ft. 6 in. high.
The cottages have small back yards, the areas of which in Nos. 1 to 4 are 90 to 103 square
ft., in Nos. 5 to 8, 113 to 121 square ft., and in Nos. 9, 10 and 11, 41, 39 and 57 square ft.
respectively, with a width of 3 ft. 6 in., inclusive of the area occupied by w.c.s and other erections.
The houses are old, worn out, show some evidence of damp, and have no damp courses.
The rooms are small, low-pitched, with deficient light and air, and the staircases mostly narrow,
dark, and come direct out of the living room. The ground floors, in all but three cases, are
below the level of the court, which itself is 3 ft. below Trinity high water mark.
Gareth Place
is approached from Crosby Row by a narrow covered passageway 3 ft. 2 in. wide and 8 ft.
7 in. high, followed by four steps. The courtyard, which is 4 ft. below Crosby Row and 3 ft.
below Trinity high water mark, is only 9 ft. wide. The cottages consist of 4 rooms, and are 2
stories high. They are old and worn out, and the yards at their rear are very small, the average
size of those on the North side being 47 square ft., inclusive of w.c.s and other erections
thereon, with a uniform width of 4 ft. 3 in. Those on the South side, with the exception of No.
5 which abuts on a small piece of ground (vacant), have yards of an average area of 32 square
ft. inclusive of w.c.'s and other erections thereon, and the width varying from 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. 4 in.
The rooms are low-pitched. The floors of the ground floor rooms are in some cases*
below the level of the back yards adjoining, and the walls show signs of dampness. The
staircases are narrow, dark, and ill-ventilated, and lead out of the living rooms. The end of
the court is closed by a wall 13 ft. 6 in. high.
Porlock Place
Is approached from Crosby Row by two narrow passages, the northernmost one, which
leads down three steps, being 3 ft. wide and covered in at a height of 8 ft. 2 in.
The portion of Porlock Place included in the area consists of 5 groups of cottages badly
arranged, with very narrow courtyards between them, varying in width from 4 ft. to 12 ft.
Some of the houses, viz., 36, 38 and 40, are without back yards, and consist of two rooms
with staircase leading out of living room. They show signs of dampness. The w.c.'s are at
the end of the court.
Numbers 22 to 32 have small yards which average 59 square ft., inclusive of w.c.'s and
other erections thereon.
Numbers 23 to 33, facing the cottages last mentioned, are only one-story high, and have
back yards which vary from 77 to 102 square ft., inclusive of w.c.'s and other erections thereon.
Numbers 15 and 17 have very small yards, that of 15 being quite covered in and of such
small dimensions that it could scarcely be called a yard, while that of No. 17 is mostly closed
in by high walls.
Numbers 19 and 21 have no back yards, and the light and ventilation of these are very
much restricted, principally owing to the buildings of the Charterhouse Mission, which is 64 ft.
and 42 ft. above the highest point of these houses, which are themselves 16 ft. and 22 ft. high.
The light and ventilation in No. 19 is further hindered by the close proximity of this high
building which is only 4 ft. distant, and 13 ft. from No. 21. On the west side of No. 21,
Porlock Place, in Crosby Row, the houses are only 13 ft. 6 in. distant and 30 ft. high, thus
interfering with the light and ventilation in this direction.
The cottages are old, No. 21 being largely constructed of wood, which is in a very
dilapidated state.
In the Appendix will be found Tables dealing with the statistics of the insanitary area.
In addition to the above, evidence was brought supporting the various contentions of this
Council as detailed in the correspondence, why this Borough should not be called upon to
undertake the dealing with this area.
On January 16th, the Public Health Committee reported:—
We report the receipt of a letter from the Local Government Board stating that
they have received the report made by their Inspector, Mr. Willis, after the Inquiry
held by him with reference to the question of a scheme for the reconstruction of the
premises within the area comprising Cusack Place, Gareth Place, and a part of Porlock
Place; the Board gather that the case is one which clearly ought not to be dealt with
under Part I. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, and in these circumstances
they do not feel justified, as matters stand, in putting the London County Council
and the Borough Council to the expense which would be involved in a hearing before an
Arbitrator to determine this point, and therefore they do not propose to take any
further action upon the representation made to them under Section 73 (1) (b) of the
Act.
• Nos. 2, 3 and 8, and in Nos. 4 and 5 they are level.