London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Bethnal Green 1883

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bethnal Green]

This page requires JavaScript

12
rooms is insufficient. At Nos. 57, 61, 63, 75, and 79, sheds
have been erected on the forecourts, obstructing both light and
ventilation. At No. 57 the bedroom (containing only 372 cubic
feet), has no light or ventilation, except from a glass tile in the
roof. The living room of this house contains only 563
cubic feet, yet a family of five persons, including children,
occupies it. None of the houses have any back light or through
ventilation.
Grariby Row: Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7 a—
Houses containing one room, separated into two by a partition.
The flooring is laid upon'the earth, and is below the level of
the yard; they are damp and dilapidated, and the cubic
capacity is insufficient.
At Nos. 3 and 6, sheds have been erected on the forecourts,
obstructing both light and ventilation.
Thomas' Passage : Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7, 0, 5, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11—
Similar houses, and in like condition. Sheds have been built ovei
the forecourts of Nos. 5 and 6, obstructing light and ventilation.
The areas I have reported upon form only a small portion of the
district under my charge, and, judging from the sample I have
examined, I cannot but believe that I shall find other streets in almost
as bad a condition as those just described.
It must be borne in mind that many of the occupants of tenement
property are careless and filthy in their habits, and in addition
are very destructive; fittings put up one day are pulled down and
destroyed the next; ash bin covers, closet doors, and even flooring
boards share the same fate; the bedding and furniture belonging to
such people is often swarming with vermin; their clothing and persons
are rarely washed, and the horrible effluvium which pervades their
dwellings is attributable quite as much to this cause as to the state
of the houses; add to this the almost universal overcrowding, and who
can wonder at the state of the rooms they inhabit.
I feel that I am only stating the simple truth when I assert that,
though a house inhabited by such tenants may be put in thorough
repair, yet if we were to inspect it three months afterwards, we should