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In the following districts, the actual number existing is not definitely stated, but the number of
bakehouses inspected, or the number of inspections of bakehouses, was as follows—
Chelsea ; 68 under inspection.
Marylebone; 438 inspections.
Hackney; 12 inspected.
St. James, Westminster; 151 wbite-washed and repaired.
St. Luke ; 37 visited and reported on, 20 served with notices to cleanse and trap drains, &c.
St. George-in-the-East; 56 inspected. It was resolved to inspect periodically.
Limehouse; 72 bakehouses were inspected twice.
Bermondsey ; 82 inspected.
Battersea; 215 inspected.
Camberwell; 82 inspected.
Greenwich ; Greenwich Parish, 86 bakehouses all inspected ; Deptford Parish, 40 cleaned,
9 drain inlets closed, 24 water supplies altered.
In Westminster, Holborn, Hammersmith, Mile-end Old-town, Lewisliam, Wandsworth, Plumstead,
and St. Martin-in-the-Fields all bakehouses were inspected and notices were served for cleansing
or repairs where necessary. In Whitecliapel in one case the use of the bakehouse for sleeping was
prohibited. In the reports for St. Saviour, Southwark, Newington, St. Olave, and Lambeth no
reference is made to the subject. In St. Pancras the medical officer of health states 85 per
cent, of the bakehouses are below the ground level, and, with few exceptions, the floor is
over seven feet below the ground level. "The bakehouses are inspected twice a year, and
maintained in conformity with the requirements of the Acts, the sections of which were
quoted in last year's report, but these requirements do not touch the question of underground
construction, and there is extreme difficulty in cleansing and ventilating a cellar such as an
underground bakehouse. It would not be in the justice of things to interfere with existing rights, but
bakehouses should be registered, for they are constantly changing ownership, and being closed and
re-opened. New bakehouses, and bakehouses re-opened after long intervals, should be required to
conform to a given standard of construction before being used for the production of bread and other
foods." The medical officer of health of Holborn urges the need of waterclosets and urinals appurtenant
to bakehouses. The medical officer of health of Shoreditcli says that many of the underground bakehouses
require inspecting four or fives times a year, which was impossible with the existing staff. The
medical officer of health of St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark, says of the 63 bakehouses in the district,
they were " generally, with a few exceptions, in a filthy and unwholesome state, dangerous alike to the
health of the journeyman baker who makes the bread, and to the public who eat it." After describing
the works required to be executed in bakehouses, he adds, "Legislation forbidding the use of cellar
bakehouses, at least of those about to be freshly started in the future, and m'aking the registration to
the sanitary authority of all bakehouses compulsory, with medical inspection prior to occupation, is very
urgently needed." The medical officer of health of Bethnal-green says of the 102 bakehouses in the district
that in 40 per cent, the bread is made in cellars. "In the whole of the parish I only found seven of these
places in what I should call a clean and satisfactory condition; the others are either dirty and untidy or
some fault was found such as bad ventilation, defective sink traps, closet flushing apparatus out of
order, or bad surface drainage of yard, &c." In 10 bakeries he found "the sanitary arrangements so
bad, the lighting and ventilation so imperfect, as to render them totally unfit for use," and, in his
opinion, incapable of improvement. He accordingly recommended proceedings under section 16 of the
Factory and Workshops Act, 1883. In 64 instances the walls, ceilings and passages were in a dirty
condition. He adds, "They require frequent inspection and should be visited at least four or five times
a year, but your present staff of inspectors are too fully occupied to devote sufficient time to them, and
I think that the appointment of a workshop inspector as recommended by the Sanitary Committee should
be at once proceeded with." The medical officer of health of Plumstead (Plumstead parish) states his
opinion that a certificate of fitness for use of any premises as a bakehouse should be obtained before such
premises are thus occupied.
Houses let in Lodgings.
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891, makes an important alteration in the law relating to
houses let in lodgings. Under section 35 of the Sanitary Act, 1866, it was optional for the sanitary
authority to make such regulations and to register such houses, and antecedent to doing so it was
necessary to obtain an order by one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State (subsequently the
Local Government Board), declaring in force in the district the provisions relating to such houses.
After the holding of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes, the Local
Government Board declared these provisions in force in every London district. The Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, had now made it obligatory on every London sanitary authority to make and enforce
the necessary by-laws. In many districts regulations were in operation before the year 1891.
The reports of medical officers of health for the year 1892 show that in Kensington 1,800 houses
had been registered and "many wait attention." In Hammersmith the report of the vestry shows
regulations were made in 1887, but that no houses have been registered for the reason that "the vestry
finds it is enabled to effect all its requirements by the aid of Public Health and other Acts." In St.
George, Hanover-square, houses let in lodgings were inspected and regulations enforced. In Westminster
by-laws were framed and submitted to the Local Government Board. In Marylebone their
were 3,889 inspections of houses which were subject to regulations made under the Sanitary Act. In
Hampstead 1,107 houses were subject to regulations made under that Act. In St. Pancras
144 houses were placed on the register, but the medical officer of health states that "the multiplicity
of duties falling on your sanitary inspectors has hitherto left no time available for them
to be regularly inspected as they should be at least once a year." In Islington 300 houses were on the
register and regulations were enforced. In St. Giles 451 houses were on the register. In 361 instances
notices were served for breach of regulations, and in 14 instances further proceedings were taken and in
some fines imposed. In St, Martin-in-the-Fields the houses registered were regularly inspected. In