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101
The capacity of the baking room, with nine exceptions, exceeds 1,500 cubic feet; the
floor space, with 11 exceptions, 200 feet superficial.
As regards height, 17 bakehouses exceed 8 ft. 6 in.
25 „ are 8 ft. and less than 8 ft. 6 in.
26 „ are 7 ft. 6 in. and less than 8 ft.
22 „ are 7 ft. and less than 7 ft. 6 in.
4 „ are 6 ft. 6 in. and less than 7 ft.
1 bakehouse is less than 6 ft. 6 in. in height.
The ceiling is above the level of the roadway in eight cases, to the extent of from
3 to 72 inches; is level with the roadway in 31 cases, and is below the level of the roadway
in 56 cases, to an extent ranging from 2 inches to 27 inches.
The floor is below the level of the roadway to a depth ranging from 3 ft. 7 in. to
11 ft.
In 35 cases there are areas wholly or partly open to the street or ground adjoining.
In some cases the areas are covered in, and in some the area has been taken into, and
forms part of, the baking room.
The walls are usually plastered, though some are whitewashed brick, and in one or
two cases impermeable substances have been used.
The ceiling as a rule is lath and plaster, but in some cases it is formed by the floor
boards of the shop or room overhead.
The floor is of various materials and often very irregular on the surface.
Light.
The light is usually obtained by a hinged sash or sashes in the stall-board, and when
there is an area, by a window or windows opening thereinto. As a rule, the supply of
light is not sufficient to enable work to be carried on by day without recourse to artificial
illumination.
Ventilation.
This (such as it is) is dependent, in by far the larger number of instances, on the
opening of windows which admit air with draughts, there being no outlet for the escape
of vitiated air, and nowhere have we seen a satisfactory method of ventilation by inlets
and outlets.
It is obvious that a window, opening on or near the street level, provides an inlet
for dust as well as air, and is therefore a means of ventilation of the worst kind, when
the character of the industry carried on below is considered.
All Other Respects.
In many baking rooms a sink has been provided, the waste water being discharged
over a gully, which in some instances is connected to a drain for carrying sewage matter.
In other cases, waste water is made to discharge over a gully outside the house; a course
which is not always practicable.
In some instances, the water-closet is more or less in aerial communication with the
baking room, and in many cases the accommodation is not conveniently situated, having
regard to the conditions under which the operatives work.
In 64 instances the water supply is obtained from the rising main; in the remainder,
from a cistern more or less satisfactorily constructed and placed.
The walls, ceiling and floor are in many cases in an unsatisfactory state.
In 51 instances there is a cellar, generally a coal cellar, in direct communication
with the baking room. This is the case usually when the area has been taken into the
baking room, and it constitutes one of the most serious objections to many underground
bakehouses, because of the facilities afforded for the admittance of foul air and dirt and
the harbourage of insects.
We have carefully considered the measures necessary to bring the various premises
up to a proper standard, and in connection therewith have had before us certain ' Suggested
Requirements ' adopted by the Incorporated Society of Medical Officers of Health.