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87
Housing Conditions.
General observations.—Speaking generally, it may be said that the housing
conditions are bad and constitute the worst factor in the environment of the
inhabitants of Shoreditch.
The total number of houses in the Borough is estimated to be 14,026, of which
the number occupied by the working classes is approximately 13,700.
The average number of houses to the acre is 21, but as Moorfields Ward, which
adjoins the City, is largely and increasingly occupied with business premises, this
average is considerably exceeded in the densely populated residential districts.
The approximate number of the various types of houses is as follows :—
Two-room cottages 601
Four-room cottages 3,051
Six-room houses 3,968
Tenement houses 2,994
Blocks of tenement dwellings 249 containing 3,088
separate dwellings.
In his Annual Report for the year 1919 my predecessor wrote: "Much of the
residential house property in Shoreditch is old, the wear and tear is great, and it will
always require much looking after."
The eleven years that have since elapsed have served to aggravate the general
position thus described.
Sufficiency of supply of houses.—Information under this heading can best be given
by quoting the following figures from the Census of 1921:—