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Taking into consideration the displacements which have already
taken place, and those which are likely to occur within a very few
years, and making allowance for such persons as do not require to
live near their work, or who can afford to live in the suburbs,
provision should be made for at least 500 persons at an early date.
It is difficult to give an estimate as to the actual amount of accommodation
which should be provided in addition thereto within the
next five years, but sufficient for another 500 or 750 persons would
doubtless not prove too many.
The Committee considered that accommodation for these classes
of persons was required in the City, and with the object of ascertaining
if any sites were available for the purpose, examined a number of
places in the City. Eventually, a piece of land—part of the
Westminster Chapter Estate—was secured from the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. It is 64,000 square feet in area, and abuts on
Regency Street, Page Street, and Vincent Street. It has been
cleared of houses, and it is proposed to erect upon it dwellings
similar to those recently erected by the Guinness Trust in Hammersmith,
which have been visited by the Housing Committee.
Several schemes for providing additional accommodation in the
northern part of the City have been considered, but have not as yet
assumed practical shape. In the near future schemes of street
improvement in that district will render the demand for house room
more urgent than it is now, as the persons living there are largely
of the class who must live near their work. Thus of 1,992 persons,
being the wage-earners in a population of 4,692 in 1,251 families,
living in an area between Regent Street and Wardour Street,
visited specially for this purpose, 945 were found to be tailors,
312 labourers, 83 waiters, 91 charwomen, 85 bootmakers, 34 hawkers,
35 shop assistants, and 17 police constables. Of these all but five
persons were employed in the City. Probably a number of lodgers
have not been accounted for in the above figures, as it is very
difficult to get reliable information from persons in that neighbourhood.
The number of persons per tenement has, however, increased
to a greater extent (4.2 to 4.7) in the St. James's group of Wards
than in the adjoining Ward of St. Anne (4T to 4.2).
Rents of rooms vary according to size, position, and use. Of the
1,251 tenements, 447 were single rooms, 490 were two rooms, 246
three rooms, and 68 more than three-roomed tenements.
Tables X and XI show the admitted earnings of the occupants,
together with the rent paid, but it is evident that the earnings of the
family must have been understated in a good many instances. It
will be observed, however, that the larger proportion admitted to