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and work was suspended until hostilities had terminated. In 1919,
the threads were gathered up and steps taken to develop the land
which had been purchased for housing prior to the War. The work
was carried out by what has been aptly termed "semi-direct
labour," and it is interesting to note that the Southgate Urban
District Council earned the distinction of being the first Local
Authority to complete a house in any of the post-war housing
schemes.
In 1919, the erection of 94 houses was begun in Carpenter
Gardens, work being completed by 1921. After an intervening
period of 3 years, further schemes were embarked upon in Trent
Gardens and Hood Avenue. By the end of 1926, 61 houses had
been erected in the former scheme and 89 in the latter. Thus, a
total of 244 houses were built in Southgate between the years 1919
and 1926, no small achievement, indeed an enterprise of which the
district might well be proud. Moreover, the first steps had now
been taken to establish a definite Council housing estate. In spite
of this, however, the housing position still remained acute.
The next step was a letter addressed to the local Press by the
Chairman of the Public Health Committee calling the district's,
and particularly the Churches' attention to the serious lack of available
houses at an economic rent. This challenge was taken up and
several public meetings, under the auspices of the local Churches,
were held. Following these meetings, the Council undertook to
erect a suitable number of additional Council houses, while the
Church Army Housing Estate also put into operation a plan for
removing necessitous families from the congested areas of London
to a specially designed estate at Barrow Close. Another noteworthy
feature of the same period was the inception of the Church Housing
Advisory Committee. This Committee, composed jointly of representatives
of the Church Army Housing Estate and of the local
Council, administered certain funds, the object of which was, and
still is, to assist necessitous families in paying their rents. There
can be little doubt that the activities of this Committee have been a
God-send to many poor families in the district, and no praise can
be too high for the work which its members have performed.
Mention might also be made here of an anonymous gift of £2,000
made prior to the inception of the Church Housing Advisory Committee's
fund, and given for the same purpose. This gift was put
to excellent use, and may be regarded as the first step in the local
endeavours to assist necessitous families to meet the demands which
their rentals made upon exceedingly slender incomes.
It will thus be seen that, during the few years following 1926.
serious attempts were made to meet the housing needs of the
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