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7
House Accommodation
The house accommodation, although in numerous cases it has been
generally improved, is still far from being in a satisfactory condition
Many of the houses are without back yards, and the inhabitants of the
rooms in such houses (some of them being three stories high) are compelled
to descend into the cellar for all the water that is required for culinary,
drinking, and washing purposes In other houses, where there are back
yards, the tenants have to descend into the cellar, and then ascend steps on
the other side, in order to use the privy, or to fetch water, in consequence
of the passage of the house having been taken to enlarge the lower room
Again, there are some cases where the inhabitants are compelled to carry all
the filth of their rooms along the public street, and then convey it into a
court at the rear of their tenements, and deposit it, either in the public
dust-bin, or in the common privy, there being neither privy nor dust-bin
in the house
Further, owing to the landlords of some houses being desirous of
making the most of their property, and not being controlled by any public
authority, have done away with the passage through the cellar, and instead
of converting the lower room into a passage, have made a door leading
from it to the back yard, so that the persons occupying the upper part of
the house have to pass through this dwelling-room in carrying their slops
and other refuse into the back yard
These several remarks apply to some houses in Crown Court, Aldgate;
Wentworth Street, adjoining Marlborough Court; to Nos 79, 80, and 81,
Church Street, Mile End New Town; Nos 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
and 21, King Edward Street, and Nos 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, Pelham Street
The cellars in King Edward Street are less than 5 feet in height, are
damp and unpaved, and the way to, and from them, is by a step ladder
at each end of the cellar
Each of the six houses in Pelham Street is now let to a separate family;
but if at any future time these houses should be occupied as formerly, by
separate families, those living in the upper rooms will have to pass through
the lower rooms in order to go into the back yard
The knowledge of such facts as above recorded relating to the manner in
which the poor are lodged, and they are by no means all that can be collected
upon this subject, must compel thoughtful persons not to judge too hastily
of the rude manners, want of cleanliness, and of self-respect among the
poor; for I would ask, how can cleanliness, decency, and self - respect
be observed when persons are virtually without water (owing to the labour
of obtaining it), and are compelled to carry the filth of their rooms either
through a dwelling-room, occupied by another family, or along the public
street, or through a low, and almost inaccessible and dark cellar? It is