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buildings the tendency of which has always been in the direction of greater height.
The separate houses have now reached in most cases the age limit and are incapable
of improvement. This state of affairs has necessitated during my tenure of
office as medical officer of health the representation of three areas as insanitary,
viz. : Cloth Fair, Hutchison Street and Vine Street. These are referred to later in
this section of the Report.
PRESENT POSITION OF HOUSING.—At the present time the City furnishes
the following classes of residences -
1. Reasonably satisfactory houses occupied by members of one family. In
these are chiefly to be found the clergy, a few doctors, fewer lawyers, and a number
of the better class commercial workers. These residents like others are decreasing
in numbers. The noise of the traffic on the main roads prevents that reasonable
enjoyment of quiet which is necessary if home is to be comfortable.
2. In institutions there resides a considerable portion of the City population;
for instance, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital there are over 1,000 persons, including
patients, and there are residents at the Choir School, Poor Law Institutions, and the
Police Hospital and dwellings.
3. It was a fairly regular custom in the past for business houses to board and
lodge many of their employees. This practice is rapidly declining although a few
of the firms still continue so to provide for a proportion of their staffs.
4. A number of residents are housed in blocks of buildings divided into tenements
which were originally designed for the purpose, and these include
Moor Lane Chambers.
Bridgewater House.
Albion Buildings.
Six Blocks in Dean Street.
St. Anne's Chambers.
Blomfield House.
Five Blocks of Corporation Dwellings,
Harrow Alley and Stoney Lane.
Barker's Buildings.
5. It was possible at one time to let off the top floors of business premises as
residences but this practice has almost ceased, and so far as I can gather the difficulties
in this connection have been two-fold, one relating to the water rate, the
other to assessment. To appreciate the former point it must be remembered that
until recent times it was customary to depend upon water from surface wells and
pumps, and it was during Dr. Saunders' period of office that large numbers of
these were closed. Many of these pumps were replaced by domestic hydrants in
courts and alleys, but the supply of water to every house was not effected until
many years after.
At the time of the disuse of wells many owners of business premises were
willing to let the upper portions of their premises for residences but only on the
condition that the tenants paid the water rate. Water used on business premises
was only trivial in amount, and it was regarded by the then owners rather as a
luxury than a necessity. They were often able to obtain it off the premises, but
when occupied as dwellings, a supply became essential on the premises. The water
rate was charged upon the assessed value of the whole building. This was more than
the residents could afford and it tended to reduce the occupation of such places.
The second and perhaps more serious cause for discontinuing and avoiding the
use of business premises in the City for living purposes was undoubtedly that which
resulted from the charge for inhabited house duty. In former years this duty was
not charged upon the portion of the building used only for a residence but the
whole premises were assessed if anyone was in occupation of a portion. An example
which came to my notice will make the point clear. A person of small means was
paying £30 per annum as rent in the suburbs. He was prepared to pay £50 per
annum for rooms over offices in the City which, although they lacked the suburban
amenities, he was willing to rent because of their convenience to his business. On
preparing to take up the tenancy he found that he would be required to pay £40
per annum for inhabited house duty, this being the amount of duty payable on the
assessment of the whole building. Needless to say, this agreement fell through.
Whatever may be the reason I think it may be accepted that there are very
few City business premises, certainly if the premises are of any importance, which