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97
Housing of the Working Classes Act.
On January 7th I made an official representation under Part II. of the Act,
that the houses in a certain area in Great Pearl Street, Wheeler Street, and Quaker
Street, Spitalfields, were unfit for human habitation. The narrowness, closeness,
and bad arrangement of the groups of houses, together with the want of light, air,
and ventilation, rendered them injurious to the health of the inhabitants. The evils
connected with such houses and the sanitary defects in the area could not be effectually
remedied, otherwise than by an improvement scheme for the re-arrangement
and re-construction of some of the streets and houses within the area.
The area consisted of 76 houses, 38 facing the main streets, the remainder being
situated in seven courts and squares, approached by narrow covered entrances from
the streets adjoining. The whole area consisted of about 55,000 superficial feet, or
124 acres.
The distribution of the houses was as follows:—
Great Pearl Street 12 houses
Wilk Court 3 houses
Half Wilk Court 1 house
Wheeler Street 5 houses
Union Place 3 houses
Quaker Street 21 houses
Pope's Head Court 15 houses
Harrison's Court 4 houses
New Square 4 houses
Pool's Square 8 houses
The 76 houses contained 289 rooms, of which 260 were occupied at the time of
visiting.
179 families, consisting altogther of 710 persons, were in occupation. The
houses in Great Pearl Street, Wilk Court, and Half Wilk Court, were by far
the worst on the area, three only being in a moderately good condition, and the
remaining 13 houses being very old and dilapidated. One house, No. 24½, Great
Pearl Street, was without sanitary accommodation of any kind, while at Nos. 26,
27. and 29, the w.c. accommodation was very inadequate At No. 28a, Great Pearl
Street, the ground floor room was almost in darkness, the dampness was very apparent
on the walls up to a height of five feet above the floor level. The w.c. available
was usually choked, and liquid filth was allowed to flow over the defective
paving, immediately outside the small window which formed the only means of ventilation
to the ground floor room,
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