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Lewisham.— There were 29 houses on the register at the end of 1902, none were registered
during the year, and 14 were removed from the register, leaving 15 on the register at the end
of 1903. There were 324 inspections in 1903 and 21 notices were served for nuisances.
Woolwich.— There were 132 houses on the register at the commencement of the year, 42
were recommended for registration, of which 28 were registered, 7 were removed from the register,
and 20 demolished, leaving 133 on the register at the end of the year. The houses were all
inspected either quarterly or half.yearly, and the number of notices served was 132. One
prosecution for refusal to fill up the form failed on the technical ground that the owner was not the
landlord under the by.laws. In 17 instances overcrowding was abated. Dr. Davies states that
during the year he made an inspection of 51 houses which had been recommended for registration
during the three previous years, "but which had not been registered because they were reduced
to occupation by one family, or overcrowding or dirty conditions were remedied, or the conditions
were not thought bad enough to justify registration."He found that 43 of these houses
were still occupied by two or more families, 28 of these were in a dirty condition, and overcrowding
existed in 12. "Such a result," he writes, "shows conclusively that this class of
house requires to be dealt with in a special way. Fourteen of these houses were ordered by the
committee to be placed on the register." He further states that he inspected a large number
of houses on the register and found their conditions markedly superior to those referred to above.
Houses adapted as tenement houses.
During 1903 Dr. Young made inquiry as to the extent to which houses originally constructed
for one family were adapted for use by several families when subsequently let in
tenements. In numerous instances he found that no alteration had been made, and that the only
water supply available for all the families was derived from a tap in the back.yard or in the wash.
house on the ground or basement floors. As a rule water.closet accommodation had been provided,
usually in the back.yard, in the proportion of one water.closet to every 12 persons, so as to
comply with the requirements of a by.law made by the London County Council under the Public
Health (London) Act 1891. Provision for washing clothes was generally, but not always, made
by the use as a wash.house of the ground floor room of a back addition or a room in the basement
or an outhouse in the back.yard. Frequently, moreover, the only opportunity for cooking
was a stove of the ordinary bedroom type which had been put into the house when it was originally
constructed. The results of Dr. Young's inquiries are embodied in a report which is appended.
(See Appendix II.)
Common Lodging.houses.
The administration of the Common Lodging Houses Acts devolved upon the Council in
1894. New by.laws governing common lodging.houses came into force on the 1st October, 1903.

In the year 1903 proceedings before the magistrate were instituted in six instances,
resulting in six convictions, the penalties amounting to £18 9s., with costs amounting to £8 2s.
In addition to the number of inspections mentioned in the table there were 826 day and 122
night visits to houses suspected of being used as common lodging.houses.
The number of cases of notifiable infectious disease reported in common lodging.houses
was as follows— Smallpox, 33; erysipelas, 12; diphtheria, 5; enteric fever, 2; scarlet fever, 1;
total, 53.
As mentioned in my last annual report, the Council obtained powers under its General
Powers Act, 1902, for the annual licensing of common lodging.houses. The Act received the
Royal assent on 31st July, 1902, and on the 1st January, 1903, notices were served upon the
keepers of all the known common lodging.houses in the administrative county calling upon
them to apply for a licence.
* The number of deaths referred to in the above table includes only those brought to the notice of the
Council's inspectors. The actual number when correction is made for deaths in infirmaries and other institutions
is very much greater.
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