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63
Proceedings by the County Council under Part III. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act.
On the 29th January the Council resolved to purchase the site of the Royal Caledonian
Asylum in Caledonian-road, Islington, for the purpose of erection of artisans' dwellings under
Part III. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act. The site is about two acres in extent, and
has a frontage of 248 feet ; the cost Is about £8,000 per acre. It was proposed to provide
accommodation for about 1,400 persons in 10 one-room tenements, 196 two-room tenements, 96
three-room tenements, and 4 four-room tenements, the whole of the tenements to be self-contained,
and the average size of the living and bedrooms to be respectively 147 square feet and 104 square
feel.
During the year progress was made with the development of the Totterdown-fields Estate,
Tooting. On the 26th February the Housing of the Working Classes Committee thus reported
on this subject—
Three lateral streets run eastwards from Tooting High-road straight through to Church-lane.
The middle one of these three will be 45 feet wide and the other two 40 feet wide. A short 40 feet
street connects the southern of these lateral streets with the middle one, and from this short transverse
street a fourth lateral street, also 40 feet wide, runs straight through to Church-lane.
Three main 45-feet streets divide the estate transversely, and are so arranged as to provide for their
continuation on the development of the adjoining land.
All the 45-feet streets will be lined with plane trees, which will be planted just inside the forecourts
of the cottages abutting upon them. The forecourts abutting on the 45-feet street will be 14
feet in depth, and the forecourts abutting on the 40-feet streets will average 5 feet in depth.
The arrangement of roads outlined above enables the whole estate to be divided into 1,244 plots
for the erection of cottages of four different kinds.

The minimum distance between the streets will be 103 feet and the maximum will be 158 feet.
The distance between the backs of the houses will vary from 38 feet to 90 feet.
The cottages will be arranged in terraces of about 18 cottages to each terrace ; and between these
terraces will be a space of about 15 feet. None of the cottages will have back additions, and the free
circulation of air will therefore be unimpeded.

It will thus be seen that it is proposed to put 8,532 persons on an estate of about 38¾ acres. This is
an average of about 221 persons per acre. This may at first sight appear a high average when compared
with the whole of London (57), but it must be borne in mind that the latter number of persons per acre
is arrived at by including in the acreage land covered not with dwelling houses alone but with
factories, warehouses and commercial property generally as well as all open spaces. The only fair
comparison would be between the estate as proposed to be developed and an area of similar acreage
exclusively covered with dwelling houses.
It will be seen that the proposed arrangement of the estate provides only two-storey buildings, with
gardens in the rear, abutting on 45 and 40 feet streets, and 45° angle of light to all windows is in all
cases more than provided for, the maximum height of the cottages being only 17 feet to eaves, and
the minimum space at the back and front being 38 and 50 feet respectively.
From these facts the Council will understand that the scheme which we have adopted for the
development of the Totterdown-fields estate is one which can be thoroughly recommended on sanitary
grounds. We have given instructions for the preparation of working drawings to be proceeded with for
the portion—about one-third—of the estate nearest to Tooting High-road.
On the 23rd July the Council approved an estimate of £30,000 for the formation of roads
and construction of sewers on this estate, and on the 30th July approved the working drawings,
specifications and bills of quantities in respect of three representative rows of cottages of four
classes, to be erected on section A, and the estimate of £74,093 in respect of the erection. The
cottages to be built on this section include 11 of the first class, 66 of the second class, 167 of the
third class and 32 of the fourth class, or a total of 276 cottages for 1,888 persons, and authorised
* Parlour, 99 sq. feet.
†Kitchen, 79 sq. feet.
‡Kitchen, 60 sq. feet.