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The form of accommodation provided varies according to the price which the individual is able
to pay. Thus, for twopence, a man obtains either a floor or "jubilee" bunk; for threepence he has a
similar bunk and is provided with an ordinary sheet in addition to the covering of American cloth, or
obtains a bunk in a cubicle and so secures greater privacy ; for fourpence he has either a bunk in a
cubicle, together with food, or a separate bedstead with ordinary bedding, but without food; for sixpence
he can obtain an ordinary bed with better day room accommodation than in the cheaper shelters.
Further, the "metropoles " or shelters at which the higher prices are charged are open throughout the
daytime just as in the case of a common lodging-house, whereas the cheaper shelters are not.
Many of the dormitories were found to be well-lighted and provided with good means of ventilation,
but exceptions to these conditions existed in some cases where the means were either inadequate,
or where the dormitory is in direct aerial communication with the space reserved for the use of the
lavatories and water-closets.
Dormitories of which the means of light or of ventilation are inadequate were seen at Horseferry-road,
Burne-street, Edgware-road, and at Blackfriars-road shelters, and cases where their position
in relation to lavatories or water-closets is objectionable at Blackfriars-road, St. John's-square
Clerkenwell, 96, Southwark-street and Burne-street shelters.
The lavatory accommodation at the different premises of the Salvation Army is in all cases fitted
up in much the same manner. In each lavatory there are generally several long metal troughs
on stands. These troughs are a few inches deep, and on them are placed loose metal bowls or small
baths, which the lodgers use for washing in. The deep trough is apparently intended to prevent the
spilling of water on the floor of the lavatory. In nearly all cases I found that bathrooms are provided
for the lodgers. An additional charge of one penny is generally made for the use of these, this charge
including a clean towel and soap. Hot and cold water are supplied in all the lavatories. At some
of the lavatories special clothes-washing troughs and scrubbing boards are furnished to enable
lodgers to wash their clothing, and facilities are provided for drying.
In most instances at the time of my visit the number of basins in the lavatory was
proportionately small for the number of lodgers which the premises accommodated. Thus, at
the "Ark," in Southwark-street, which has sleeping accommodation for 180 men, there were only
four metal troughs with nine loose basins. There are, however, four big baths, and five troughs for
washing clothes in this lavatory. At Horseferry-road shelter there is a small well-lighted and well-paved
lavatory, but I only saw eleven small hand baths; there is no bathroom here. At the shelter in Burnestreet,
Marylebone, which at the time of my inspection had accommodation for 396 men, the lavatory
contained five metal troughs, but there were no basins, and only a few small baths were seen. No
bathroom had been provided. At the " Lifeboat," in Royal Mint-street East, which accommodates
rather more than 100 men, the lavatory had six basins. It is possible that in some cases the small
number of basins noticed in the lavatories is accounted for by the fact that in those shelters which are
shut during the day-time the basins were being used for other purposes in connection with the cleansing
of the premises. The position of the lavatories in some cases is not good.
The water-closets in nearly all cases consist of trough closets, provided with large automatic
flushing cisterns, and were found to be cleanly and well kept. Some were seen where the trough is
divided by wooden partitions into separate seats or stalls, but these stalls are not provided with doors to
secure privacy (Burne-street). In some cases the position was found to be objectionable, owing to the
proximity to dormitories or day rooms, as in the case of Blackfriars-road shelter and the " Lifeboat,"
or to the absence of proper means of external light and ventilation, as at St. John's-square Clerkenwell,
and Burne-street, Marylebone.
The Shaftesbury Institute, Marylebone.—The honorary superintendent states that there is
accommodation at the women's shelter for 72 persons. The sleeping accommodation consists of two
kinds, (1) a few rooms with a small number of bedsteads provided with ordinary bedding, (2) rooms
furnished with mattresses and chairs. The mattresses are covered with American cloth, and are placed
at night time upon the ground, each being separated from the other by means of a chair placed at the
head, upon which the lodger can place her clothing. At the date of inspection no coverings were in
use, these, it was stated, having been stolen; a new stock, however, was being provided. One of these
coverings, which had j ust been made, was seen to be made up of two layers of American cloth padded
with felt. There is no separate day or sitting-room space provided for the use of the lodgers. The
rooms at this shelter are well provided in respect to means of light and ventilation.
The lavatory accommodation was found to be adequate in proportion to the number of persons
which the shelter accommodated ; the number of water-closets is not equal to the proportion required
in common lodging-houses.
In the case of the men's shelter, the sleeping accommodation consists of wooden bunks and
mattresses of the above-mentioned description. There is no separate day room, and no proper lavatory
accommodation is provided, but the number of water-closets is adequate. There is accommodation for
20 men.
Ventilation and amount of air space.
Reference has already been made to the means of ventilation of the dormitories and day rooms
of the different premises visited, and attention has been drawn to those premises where these appear to
be inadequate. In all cases it was found that natural means of ventilation are depended upon, with one
exception, namely, the large hall or day room at the Salvation Army shelter in Blackfriars-road, where
artificial means for the extraction of the air from the hall have recently been adopted. In the large
dormitories means are adopted for heating the room generally by hot-water pipes.
Although in many cases the means of ventilation were good, it was found that the amount
of cubic space for each person in some rooms was so small that it would be impracticable to
maintain the atmosphere at a proper standard of purity by the ordinary means of natural ventilation.
The amount of cubic space for each person in different premises was found to vary considerably. These