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4
Observations of the Sanitary Committee of
the Lambeth Vestry.
Overcrowding.—Dr. Hamer remarks " that overcrowding
is much less frequent in the southern
than in the northern sub-districts, and this fact
renders fhe extent of the overcrowding noted in
northern part of Lambeth the more remarkable."
Why ? The southern part of Lambeth is nearly
seven miles from the Thames. The industries are
all carried on near the river. The bridges afford
immediate access to work on the other side of the
river. The southern parts of the parish can only
be reached by long and circuitous tram routes, or
by trains notable for high fares, unpunctuality,
infrequency, and overcrowding. In the face of
these matters of common knowledge, an expert
reports on this local overcrowding as " remarkable
!" To give further evidence of his grasp of
contributory causes, Dr. Hamer notes that overcrowding
in the riverside districts has increased
since 1891, while in Whitechapel it has decreased.
Then he is mindful to add that Whitechapel has
more inspectors. Dr. Hamer does not seem to
know of railway and ether extensions in this
district, involving, with vestry action, the closing
of very many inhabited houses. This, not the
absence of inspectors, has accentuated overcrowding.
The fact is, the proximity of the
district to industrial centres makes the rent verydifferent
from that of similar tenements in Whitechapel.
Comments by the Medical Officer.
dilapidated house. The basement of this house was
damp, and very serious nuisance was caused by the
fact that soil from a water-closet bad been for
some time escaping from a broken trap.
Overcrowding..—The statement quoted has evidently
been misunderstood. It should be read with
the context. It stands in my report at the end of a
short paragraph in which comparison is made
between certain results in Lambeth as a whole,
and in the northern and southern sub-districts
separately considered.
In the whole of Lambeth 26 instances of
overcrowding were found per 100 houses
visited. (Table page 5).
" Overcrowding is much less frequent in the
southern than in the northern sub-districts."
Hence, in the northern sub-districts, the number
of instances of overcrowding per 100 houses visited
is even more remarkable than the number (26)
already given for Lambeth as a whole. In fact,
upwards of 40 instances of overcrowding per 100
houses visited were found in the northern part of
Lambeth.
The railway extension referred to is evidently
the clearance on the east side of the L. and S. W.
line, between Westminster - bridge - road and
Hercules-buildings. At the time of my inspection,
about 100 houses aud cottages had been closed in
this locality. A clearance, not for the purposes of
railway extension, affecting about the same number
of houses and cottages had moreover been made
between Felix-street and Lower-marsh. Occurrences
of this kind are to be considered with such
events as the opening of Rowton-house, with its
accommodation for 470 lodgers, and the letting of
332 one, two, and three-room tenements at the
Guinness Trust buildings, Vauxhall-square. In
an area, such as the northern sub-districts of
Lambeth, which contained, at the last census, some
10,000 houses occupied by 85,000 people, such
occurrences cannot be regarded as exceptional, or
as affording any explanation of the overcrowding
found. With regard to rents, the contention of
the Sanitary Committee of the Lambeth Vestry
appears to be that rents of tenements are higher in
the northern part of Lambeth than in Whitechapel.
Reference to notes which I have made of rents of
tenements in both districts shows, however, that
the Whitechapel rents are, generally speaking,
higher than the rents in the northern sub-districts
of Lambeth.*
Here are further samples of streets " particularly
conspicuous" for the number of defects, according
to Dr. Hamer—
Wake-street.—One house only of 40 houses
visited.
Dr. Hamer supplies the following notes on the
undermentioned places—
Wake-street.—I visited eigbthouses in this street.
The houses were very dilapidated and neglected.
In No. 44, the drain was blocked and soil from the
closet was escaping through the drain inlet of the
yard; in No. 5, the water-closet was stopped up.
I found three rooms overcrowded, and noted four
* The medical officer has asked the Council's valuer for an opinion on this point, and the valuer replies as
follows—" I have perused the criticisms made by the Local Authority on Dr. Hamer's report on the point of
overcrowding. I quite agree with the statement that the rent of tenements in North Lambeth is very different
from that of similar tenements in Whitechapel, as, in my opinion, Whitechapel rents are, generally speaking, on
a higher scale than those in North Lambeth. If therefore, as the local authorities appear to infer, higher rents
are conducive to overcrowding, there should be, under normal circumstances, more overcrowding in Whitechapel
than in North Lambeth. It may be worth while to remark that the contiguity of large business centres or
special manufacturing industries is likely to reduce the number of empty tenements in a district, but it by no
means necessarily follows that the tenements would be inhabited by a larger number of persons than their cubical
contents will healthily accommodate."