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As many of these products lend themselves so easily to the present " do-it-yourself " trend, the
employment of trained craftsmen is too often dispensed with. The full degree of improvement that
could have followed is sometimes not achieved as " bellying " and resilient surfaces result and joints
open between the sheets and at horizontal junctions with skirtings and dado rails. When ranges of
metal adjustable shelving are installed merely by the use of a screwdriver, as a result of the inexpert
work a space is often left beneath the lowest shelf which resists access for cleaning and very early in
their life show more than a tendency to lean to one side or the other.
These and other shortcomings would be avoided by the adoption of the manufacturers' advice
and frequently this is more readily available to even the small trader than is appreciated. Firms
marketing materials and equipment are unstinting in guidance, and group-buying organisations
to which many small food establishments belong sometimes offer the full-time services of a surveyor
well-acquainted with the problems likely to be met. But when all has been done to provide the best
possible premises and equipment the well-being of the customers and their families remains at the
mercy of the food handler.
Well-trained staff with a sense of responsibility can do much to minimise shortcomings in premises.
Conversely, food handlers with a lack of understanding of the reasons underlying food hygiene can
bring to nought all the expense and planning of the finest shop or restaurant.
Basement Bakehouses.
Under the provisions of section 54 of the Factories Act, 1937, a local authority is required to
examine, every fifth year, all basement bakehouses for which a certificate of suitability has been issued.
The last special survey for this purpose was made in 1958 when only three basement bakehouses
remained in the Borough. At that time one certificate of suitability was renewed, after certain work
had been done, and the proprietors of the other two establishments were given notice of the Council's
intention not to issue further certificates of suitability in respect of their premises. Routine inspections
of the one remaining underground bakehouse, as well as of those above ground, continued to be made
periodically throughout the year.
Fifty years ago there were 75 basement bakehouses in St. Marylebone and until just before the last
war there were still 49. Among the reasons for their gradual disappearance is the fact that no new
ones have been permitted to be established since 1904, and with the passage of time costly structural
repairs have become necessary to maintain a satisfactory standard of hygiene in those which existed
and continued to operate. Rather than face this, occupiers have preferred to discontinue baking and
obtain supplies of bread and cakes from bakeries elsewhere. In certain other instances, owing to the
growth of the amount of business done and the physical impossibility of extending the underground
bakeries, the proprietors have dispensed with them in favour of new bakehouses above ground.
Horseflesh.
There are now no shops in the Borough selling horseflesh for human consumption.
Slaughter of Animals.
There are in the Borough no slaughterhouses where animals are killed for human consumption
but in the grounds of the Zoological Society of London, who are licensed by the Council for the
slaughter of animals for feeding purposes, there is a knacker's yard, shortly to be replaced by a new
building which during the year has been under construction. Thirteen inspections were made.
St. Marylebone Clean Food Association.
The Executive Committee of the Association (Chairman : Mr. D. W. Moeran, Hon. Secretary :
Mr. P. Phillips, Hon. Treasurer : Mr. W. Bragg) have kindly provided the following information
which is extracted from their report for the year 1959/60:—
" Membership of the Association.
During the year under review, eleven businesses have changed hands, and nine have closed
down. The total membership is now 140.
Resignation of Chairman.
It is with much regret that we have learned that our Chairman, Mr. D. W. Moeran, is unable
to accept nomination for re-election, as he is no longer in business in the district. Mr. Moeran has
been a tower of strength to the Association since its inception in 1950, first as the Hon. Secretary
of the Working Committee which formulated the Articles of Association, including the Code of