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The proceedings in some other districts than those mentioned in the above table were as
follows— In Kensington 33 new water-closets were provided and 107 improved; in Westminster
there were 29 instances in which improved sanitary accommodation was provided; in St. Pancras in
99 instances water-closets were improved; in the City there were 188 improvements connected with
water-closets, including 20 additional provided in workshops and 22 in factories; in Bethnalgreen
46 water-closets were cleansed and repaired; in Stepney 123 additional water-closets were
provided, and in many the water supply was improved; in Poplar 21 water-closets were improved
in workshops in which women were employed; in Southwark 66 water-closets were provided and
100 improved; in Lambeth separate accommodation was provided in 9 instances, and water.
closets improved in numerous instances; in Camberwell improvements were effected in 44
instances, and in 3 insufficient accommodation was found and remedied.
The Order of 1903 mentioned above makes certain requirements as to the position and
other matters connected with sanitary conveniences. The medical officer of health of Paddington
states that the provisions relating to exclusion from workrooms of the emanations arising from
closets and urinals might be usefully enforced, but could not be universally applied, as they would
entail reconstruction of many premises. The medical officer of health of Finsbury also speaks of
difficulty in dealing with the subject of proper sanitary accommodation in workshops in a district
like Finsbury in the midst of a transition period between a residential borough and an industrial
borough. In the City, where the Corporation has adopted the standard of the Home Office Order,
steps are being taken to secure suitable sanitary accommodation for women clerks employed in
offices which are deemed to be workplaces. Dr. Collingridge states that complaints of insufficiency
continue to be received, but that the owners of the premises have in each instance shown themselves
willing to make such alterations and improvements as were required to secure the necessary
accommodation. He comments on the absence of any statutory requirement of accommodation for
washing hands, and states that owners of workshops have had their attention directed to this
matter, and in many cases this accommodation has been provided.
Bakehouses.
Under the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, no underground bakehouse could continue
to be occupied after the 1st January, 1904, unless certified by the sanitary authority to be
suitable as regards construction, light, ventilation, and in all other respects. Throughout London
alterations and improvements were effected in many bakehouses during 1903 to meet the requirements
of sanitary authorities for the purposes of certification, and in other cases underground
bakehouses were disused.
Information supplied by the annual reports as to the results of this provision shows that
in Paddington certificates were refused in two instances; in Kensington no applications were
refused, but in 6 instances the bakehouse was devoted to other use, in 5 instances gone out of
use, and in 6 instances bakehouses above ground have been substituted, thus reducing the underground
bakehouses from 95 to 78; in Hammersmith there are 42 underground bakehouses in use;
in Fulham 55 underground bakehouses were in use, 5 have been closed, in one instance noncompliance
with an order to supply electric light led to the application being refused, a prosecution
followed, and the electric light was then provided; in Chelsea in 6 cases the bakehouse was disused,
and in one instance the certificate was refused; in Westminster the number of underground bakehouses
was reduced from 97 to 79; in St. Marylebone no application was received in respect of
7 underground bakehouses, the owners, having short leases, being unwilling to effect the necessary
improvements; in Hampstead 3 bakehouses were closed; in Islington 4 were closed; in Stoke
Newington 1 was closed; in Hackney 7 were closed, and a few others will be allowed to be
continued for a few years without certification; in Holborn certificates were not granted in several
cases. In Finsbury 6 underground bakehouses were closed; in the City, of 44 underground
bakehouses 1 has been demolished and 16 closed or disused; in Shoreditch no application was
received in respect of 6; in Bethnal Green 6 were closed and 3 have been disused for the purpose