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extended to almost every house in all the courts. There is hero no drainage
of any kind, there is consequently a great accumulation of filth, and the
sense of closeness is stifling."
" Cartwright-street.—A long street with an open gutter in the centre ;
in this street fever has been prevalent in every house. In Walton-court, a
narrow and close court, terminated at the extremity by a dead wall as high
as tho houses, fever has prevailed in every house."
" Blue Anchor-yard.— An open gutter in the centre always full of
putrefying matter ; abounds with narrow courts, in which the accumulation
of filth is excessive, and it is scarcely possible for any air to penetrate. In
the whole of this street fever has been extremely prevalent, but in the
courts scarcely a house has escaped. At one extremity Blue Anchor-yard
making a sudden turn terminates in a street called New Martin-street,
through which the same gutter runs or rather stagnates; fever has been in
every house in this street without exception."
" The streets on the northern side of Whitechapel, as Essex-street, Castlestreet,
Castle - alley, Goulston - street, Petticoat - lane, Tewkesbury-court,
George-yard, New-court, and the whole of Wentworth- street, and all the
courts, alleys, and passages in the neighbourhood, are without any drainage,
and extremely filthy and close. Eever has raged dreadfully in the whole of
this district; in some cases six persons of a family have been ill of it
together, all in one room, and four in one bed." Some of the above named
places have been pulled down and most of the others are improved, but
much more is required to be done to them.
"In the year ending March 20th, 1838, Whitechapel had no fewer than
2,405 cases and 214 deaths from zymotic disease among its 5,856 paupers.
" I have made an inspection of a considerable portion of Spitalfields, a
part of Mile-end New Town, most of the north part of Whitechapel, and
the neighbourhood of Rosemary Lane, and have witnessed scenes that would
have appeared almost incredible without personal examination. I have seen
court after court, and house after house, which in a sanitary point of view
are scarcely fit in their present state for the abode of man.
" The history of populous courts and neighbourhoods may be summed
up in a very few words,—no paving or bad paving, cleansing defective, no
efficient drainage, bad water badly distributed, cesspools or open privies over
drains loaded with putrescent deposit, filth within and without the houses,
no ventilation." The above remarks are not now applicable to the courts in
this District.
"I visited a number of courts out of Quaker-street, Spitalfields, and
streets adjoining, and found them in a most deplorable condition. They are
unflagged, the surface broken up into hollows, or having trenches dug in
them, filled with foul waier and putrescent refuse; the whole surface wet,
exhaling unwholesome vapours; the foul water sometimes standing in pools
before the doors, and heaps of refuse in corners. I entered one of these