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Workshops.—The officers of the vestry appear to have no precise information as to the
number of workshops in Lambeth. Section 26 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891, extends to
workshops the requirement of the 75th section of the Act of 1878, that written notice shall be given to
the Home Office inspector by any person beginning to occupy a factory. It is, moreover, provided
that notices so received shall be forwarded to the sanitary authority of the district in which the workshop
is situate. Again, under an order of the Secretary of State, lists of outworkers in certain specified
trades must be kept by occupiers of workshops and contractors employed by such occupiers, and these
lists are open to inspection by any inspector under the Factory and Workshop Act, or by any officer of
a sanitary authority.
During a period of about two years, information relating to 42 sets of premises had, I was told,
been received from the Home Office inspector. These premises were, for the most part, found, on being
inspected by the vestry's inspector, to be places where one or two outworkers were employed.
No systematic attempt was being made by the vestry, on its own initiative, to deal with workshop
inspection, or to carry into execution the outworkers' order. One inspector charged with the
execution of a number of other duties was in the habit of making inquiry concerning complaints
relating to workshops. The quality of this work was good, the quantity of it quite out of proportion to
the needs of the district.
By the kindness of Mr. Lakeman, superintending inspector of factories and workshops in
London, I have been furnished with a statement as to the number of workshops in Lambeth under
inspection by the Home Office inspectors. Mr. Lakeman finds there are 720 workshops under inspection
at the present time, and he considers that fully 100 more will be added when the list is more
complete. In addition to this there are many workshops which do not employ protected persons, and
which are not inspected by the Home Office inspectors. Mr. Lakeman estimates the number of these
as being about 350.
There are certainly therefore upwards of 1,000 workshops in Lambeth, and until a house-tohouse
inspection of the district is made it will not be possible to determine with exactness how much
larger than this is the actual number of workshops existing in the parish.
In the course of my inspection of the district I happened by chance to come across a few workshops,
and in company with the inspector who deals with complaints relating to this class of premises,
I visited a number of places to which his attention had been directed. I have notes concerning fiftyeight
workshops in all. The majority of these were occupied by dressmakers. There were a few
tailors', bootmakers' and picture-frame makers' workshops, an artificial flower maker's workshop, a
surgical instrument maker's workshop, and some others.
In three instances no abstract of the Factory and Workshop Act was exhibited as required by
law ; in one case overcrowding existed. These observations, however, it must be remembered, relate
for the most part to premises to which the inspector's attention had been directed, and in connection
with which he had caused improvements to be effected. In some of the cases not on the inspector's list,
complete ignorance of the existence of any law dealing with workshops was professed by the occupiers.
A woman who had just taken a front basement room with the intention of carrying on "ladies'
tailoring " expressed astonishment when she was told the cubic capacity of the room was not sufficient
for more than seven workers. She said there was room for more than twice that number at the table
without their interfering with one another's elbows; and added that although she had been in the
trade all her life, she had " never before been in a workroom where the girls did not sit so thick that
there was not sufficient room for their elbows."
A satisfactory control of the workshops in Lambeth can only be exercised in conjunction with
a system of house-to-house inspection.
Bakehouses.—I visited fifty-three bakehouses, of which twenty-three were underground.
In seven instances the ventilation was noted as unsatisfactory, in seven instances the bakehouse
needed cleansing or lime-whiting, and in three instances water was drawn from a cistern and not
directly from the main. In ten instances drain inlets were found inside bakehouses, such inlets were,
however, in all cases trapped.
Slaughterhouses, cowsheds and offensive trades.—At the time of my inspection there were fiftyfour
licensed slaughterhouse premises in Lambeth; I visited fifty-one of these. In a few instances
the slaughterhouses visited were fairly well adapted for the purpose, in the majority of cases they were
situated in objectionally close proximity to inhabited houses. The slaughterhouses at 7, Lambeth-walk,
213, Wands worth-road, and 113, Lambeth-walk, were particularly badly situated. Very little slaughtering
appeared to be carried on, in many instances the only use made of the premises was to kill a few
sheep in the summer months. Putting aside all questions of suitability of site the slaughterhouses,
as regards compliance with the by-laws of the Council, with one or two exceptions, were found
to be in a satisfactory condition.
I visited the thirty-five licensed cowhouse premises in the district. Some excellent work has
recently been accomplished by the Lambeth Vestry in connection with the drainage of cowsheds and
the improvement of receptacles for dung. In almost all instances it was found that the drainage had
been entirely re-constructed, and with one or two exceptions new dung pits had been provided, which
complied with the by-laws made by the Council under sec. 39 (1) of the Public Health London Act.
There are few really good cowsheds in Lambeth. The allowance of cubic space is cut down by most
of the cowkeepers to the minimum which the law requires, and there is a strong prejudice manifested
against ventilation. Ventilating openings can be insisted upon, but the cowkeepers persistently close
them with a view to raising the temperature of the shed and encouraging secretion of milk. The
premises upon which businesses within the meaning of sec. 19 of the Public Health Act are carried on
are the fat-melting and olein soap-making works in Upper-marsh, the soap-boiling works in Broadwall,
and premises in Lambeth-walk, in New-cut, aud in Lower-marsh at which tripe boiling is carried on.
The premises in Lower-marsh are not suitable for carrying on the business of a tripe boiler. They
appear to be hardly ever used.