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below the level of the ground either in front or behind, and
their condition is becoming more and more dilapidated,
80 that it will shortly be necessary to declare them
as unfit for human habitation.
As evidence of the unhealthiness of this area, may be
stated the fact that so many deaths belonging to these houses
occurred during 1881 that the death-rate was for that year
57.1 per 1000, or more than two-and-a-half times as great as
that of St. Pancras or London as a whole.
Other areas must not be forgotten; Melina Place is
especially one that will have to be kept under observation.
It is approached from Riley Street, and the entrance to the
court is down a series of steps, so that the level of the court
is nearly seven feet below the level of the adjoining roadway.
A narrow passage of but six feet eight inches in width runs
in front of the houses, and is bounded on the opposite side by
a high wall. None of the houses have backs, and thus every
condition combines to prevent the circulation of air round
and through them.
The houses are five in number, and two water closets
placed at the end of the court have to do duty for every house.
Reference may also be made to that portion of Colonnade
Mews which is situated in St. Pancras. Here again the
position of these houses is such that they are below the level
of the street, and their condition is anything but satisfactory.
In them the death-rate for 1881 was 36 3 per
1000 living, or half as large again as St. Pancras or London
as a whole.
I have arranged the accompanying plans to show the
relation of the houses in Poplar and Compton Place, in
Cooper's Buildings and Melina Place, to each other and to
surrounding Buildings. It will be seen by them how impossible
it is to properly ventilate houses thus situated.
St. Pancras especially needs accommodation for the working
classes. Within the last few years, large areas occupied
by the poor have been cleared of houses, and no adequate
provision has been made for those who have been thus displaced.
With so many railways running through the parish,
it would be a great assistance if opportunity were given to
the poor to live outside the more crowded parts, and to use
the railways for the purpose of going daily to their work,
but this would not meet the necessities of all, and properly
constructed houses ought, therefore, to he provided wherever
the opportunity presents itself.