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There are at most a dozen dwellings in the City which are so old, so lacking in light and air,
and so devoid of reasonable amenities that they should be closed as opportunity offers. Except
in the instance reported below there is no question of demolition, since the ground floors are
already converted to commercial use, and when the tenants of the dwellings above are rehoused
the remainder of the premises will no doubt be similarly converted. This has already happened
in several instances and the transformation effected is remarkable. This does not mean that
they could be made fit as dwellings even if an equal amount of money was spent on them.
The type of tenant in these dwellings is difficult to rehouse, mainly, but not solely, because they
don't want to move from the particular location.
Crown Gardens is a group of five houses on either side of a court approached by a passage
from Aldgate. The houses are old and have no through ventilation by reason of the fact that
commercial premises have been built against the back walls. The basement kitchens are illegal
underground rooms; the water-closets are under the common court and have no natural light.
There are of course no bathrooms. The houses are falling into disrepair and have become damp
and insanitary. No. 7 has been empty for three years and has been closed but not demolished.
The tenants of the other houses were all elderly and it was intended to close the houses as
they became vacant and then demolish them altogether, but it became apparent that earlier
action was necessary, and notices under Section 11 of the Housing Act, 1936 were served on
the owner, who readily agreed to the demolition of the houses as soon as the sitting tenants
could be accommodated elsewhere. Finding alternative accommodation which the tenants will
accept is proving very difficult, as they are unwilling to be rehoused outside the City.
WELFARE OF OLD PEOPLE.
The City of London Old People's Welfare Association, under the Presidency of the Lord
Mayor and the Chairmanship of Sir Frederick Rowland, has continued to do all that its limited
financial resources permit for the welfare of old people resident in the City and in the Corporation's
Housing Estates outside the City. Residents in the eastern half of the City have an
excellent club in Stoney Lane which is open all day. Those in the western half are very kindly
granted club facilities by the City of London Residents Association. All old people on the
register, which now includes 1,138 names, are visited by the Hon. Secretary or by one of the
voluntary visitors, and visits are repeated regularly if needed or desired. The Association
provides Convalescent holidays, additional domestic assistance and night help, invalid aids of
various kinds, a chiropody service, handicraft classes, wireless sets and Christmas parcels.
A number of kind friends have provided entertainments and summer outings. We are very
grateful to them; to the voluntary visitors and to the Hon. Secretary Mrs. Cohen, who devotes
almost all her spare time to the welfare of the aged, the infirm, and those in sickness or
distress, but is essentially practical in her approach to their problems.
Isleden House.
Isleden House was built after the war, as "an experiment in the housing of the aged in a
densely populated district", by the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities, a charitable
body formed to administer the consolidated charities of most of the parishes of the City of
London, under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 23rd February, 1891, made
under the City of London Parochial Charities Act, 1883. Having administered Isleden House
most successfully for some three years, the Trustees decided that it should be transferred to
Local Authority control, and appropriately offered it to the Corporation of the City of London,
who agreed to purchase it for the sum of £100,000.
The accommodation provided is as follows: —
Ground Floor: —
22 Small flats for one person (Type "A"). Living Room, Kitchenette and Bathroom.
9 Small flats for two old persons (Type "B"). Living Room, Bedroom, Kitchenette
and Bathroom.
First Floor: —
9 Flats for a three-person family (Type "C"). Living Room, Two Bedrooms, Kitchen
and Bathroom.
5 Flats for a 4-5 person family (Type "D"). Living Room, Three Bedrooms, Kitchen
W.C. and Bathroom.
Second Floor: —
Ditto.
Third Floor: —
Ditto.
In addition to the above there are separate Communal Laundries for the Old People and
the Families, with a Central Boiler House in the Basement under. There is an Administration
Block, consisting of the Superintending Matron's Office and Flat, a Communal Dining Room
and Kitchen for the Old People and a Sick Bay with a General Ward and two private rooms, in
which old People who are not ill enough to go to hospital can be looked after. Pram and Bicycle
stores are also provided on the ground floor for the use of the tenants on the upper floors.
Detailed Description of Flats
(1) Type "A" Flat to accommodate one Old Person.
Entered through a small porch leading into the Living Room, which has a curtainedoff
Bed Recess and a bay window and is warmed by a combined gas and coal fire in addition
to Central Heating from the Main Boiler House. Leading out of the Living Room and
looking on to the Central Courtyard is a small Kitchenette, one side of which is taken up