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The decline of the residential population from 257,282 in 1861 to 120,535
in 1931 is some indication of the changes which have taken place in the character
of this great City, the age-long centre of fashion, social life, art and amusement,
and now also rapidly becoming a commercial district. The old family mansions,
such as Devonshire and Chesterfield Houses have given way to stately hotels and
blocks of flats, and to commercial and office buildings. The Albany however
remains to mark the flight of time. As some of the flats are freeholds even one
occupant can delay rebuilding and improvement.
The widening at the east end of the Strand, the construction of Kingsway and
Aldwych and the rebuilding of Regent Street have taken place. I have also
witnessed the complete transformation of the Millbank estate, mostly a township
of old cottages, to palatial office buildings, residential flats, the new Westminster
Medical School and Nurses Home, and the largest of the Council's new housing
estates with its 616 flits also occupies the site. The disastrous Thames flooding
in 1928 was the chief factor in creating this great new development. It is
interesting to recall that while none of the five local authorities absorbed
by the City Council in 1901 had erected any working-class dwellings, the City
Council has built eight estates comprising a total of 1,516 dwellings.
Behind Clement's Inn stood King's College Hospital, demolished for the new
premises of Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son. During excavation of the site the large
quantities of human remains found led some to believe that they had discovered
an old plague pit. It proved in fact to have been a recognised burial place, but the
burials must have taken plaos without any order or decency.
The Adelphi, with its noble terrace, except for changes in occupation, remained
until quite recently as when constructed by the Adam Bros, about the years 1768-72,
unfortunately it is no more. Weird tales have been told of its arches. A flight
of wooden steps from one of the darkest corners led to a large gloomy vaulted
chamber known as " Fagin's Kitchen" ; whether the real den of Dickens' " Fagin "
or not I am unable to say.
The first area dealt with by the City Council under the Housing Acts was
Turners Court, off St. Martin's Lane, a narrow court of eleven houses where the
Coliseum now stands. The houses contained 55 families and proceedings were
taken under the Housing Act, 1890 in the Police Court at Bow Street, when an
order was made by the Magistrate, Mr. Fenwick, for the closure of the houses
within 28 days. The order also provided for the payment by the owner of 20s. to
each tenant towards the cost of removal. All the houses were vacated within the
28 days, the tenants themselves finding other accommodation.
The upper parts of the majority of the houses in Soho used to be let in tenements
and were occupied principally by the outworkers of tailoring and other firms, often
to the legal limits and even in excess. A family might occupy a floor of 3 rooms,
a workroom, a bedroom and a living room or kitchen. During working hours the
workroom would be filled by the workers of the family and often by one or two
extra sittings let to outsiders. At night, beds would be unrolled and laid on the
floor of the workroom for the children and perhaps one or two others also. Night
visits were frequently paid to prevent this overcrowding. Other trades during
recent years have displaced many of the resident tailors who now live and work in
more pleasant surroundings in the suburbs.