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The subjoined excerpt taken from a Report of Mr. Wrack,
addressed to the Board of Works, and dated 23rd of April, 1883,
exemplifies in a striking manner the necessity of providing a new and
efficient Building Acft as shall prevent the erection of unhealthy
houses.
" A block of dwellings has recently been erected (within the last
two years), partly in Commercial Street, and partly in Shepherd Street,
Spitalfields, and are named Shepherd's Buildings. These premises are
five storeys high ; the ground floor is occupied as shops, and the five
floors above are divided into 89 separate tenements, of which 34 consist
of two rooms each and 5 of one room, making a total of 73 rooms, 20 of
which were empty at the time of my visit. These tenements, consisting
of 53 rooms, are occupied by 151 persons, viz. 59 adults and 92 children.
The sanitary arrangements of these buildings are very unsatisfactory,
for there is no yard or open space for the use of the occupiers. The
water-closets, 14 in number, are placed in the passages on the several
floors and adjoining the rooms. The want of light renders eight of
these rooms totally unfit for human habitation, and a notice was served
upon the owner a short time ago respecting the same and they have
since been closed. Mr. Wrack further says that on a bright clear day
when he visited these rooms, the occupiers were obliged to resort to
the light of candles and lamps to enable them to perform their
domestic work.