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The following arc the localities from which fever patients were removed
to the Homerton Fever Hospital during the Quarter, viz.: 12 from Workhouse,
1 from the Black Horse, Tower Hill, 1 from 8 Sun Court,
4 from 52 Flower-and-Dean Street, 1 from 15½ Glasshouse Buildings,
1 from 10 Raven Street, 1 from 57 Lambeth Street, 1 from 68 Lambeth
Street, 1 from 16 Bath Place, making a total of 23 cases. Of these, 6 died,
viz.: 2 from 52, Flower-and-Dean Street (typhus), 1 from Workhouse
(typhus), 1 from 10 Raven Street (enteric), and 2 from Workhouse (enteric).
Registeeed Common Lodging Houses.
On the receipt of the preceding return of Mr. Ilott, I instituted an
inquiry into the sanitary condition of some of the registered common
lodging-houses, when I found that several of the rooms were overcrowded;
and the ventilation in many instances was very defective.
From the result of the measurement of the 37 rooms contained in the
five lodging-houses which I visited with the Inspectors, Messrs. Battram and
Wrack, it appears that 32, or 86.4 per cent. of them were overcrowded;
that is to say, that a space of less than 800 cubic feet was allotted to each
bed, the space varying from 197 to 298 cubic feet. In addition to the evil
of the overcrowding of the rooms, it was found that in one of them, which
contained 14 beds, the foul air escaped by means of an open staircase into
the room above containing 9 beds. Further, some of the rooms were very
offensive, although my visit was made about 12 o'clock in the day, when the
beds were empty. It is less disagreeable to imagine what must be the offensive
condition of some of these overcrowded rooms at night, when each bed
is occupied, than to realize it.
Mr. Batteam has given me a return of the size of the rooms, and the
number of beds in each (including those I visited with him), of the 22
registered common lodging-houses which have been visited. From this return
it appears that out of the 158 rooms in these lodging-houses, in which there
were 890 beds, 53 of these rooms, or 33.5 per cent. were overcrowded. In
many of these overcrowded rooms the beds are so close together that it was
impossible to pass between them ; and I may add, that some of the rooms,
owing to defective ventilation and want of light, were altogether unfit for
sleeping apartments.
As I have directed the attention of the Chief Commissioner of Police to
the overcrowding and to the defective sanitary condition of some of the common
lodging-houses in this District, I have no doubt that the defects
pointed out will be remedied. Mr. Battram's report is as follows:—
Mr. Battram's Report on the Size of the Rooms and the Number
of Beds in the Overcrowded Rooms.
" On inspecting some of the registered lodging-houses I found that out
of 158 rooms, 53 had less than 300 cubic feet allotted to each lodger. The