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

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Paddington 1864

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington]

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16
purpose. When the Bake-house is under the same
roof with the dwelling house and shop, it is usually
ventilated by one or two doors into the other
rooms or passages on the same level, and by a
trap or staircase leading to the shop or other room
on the ground floor. In addition to these, almost
all Bake-houses are provided with one or more
ventilating valves or flaps above the ovens' mouths,
which are necessarily placed in one of the external
walls. The sufficiency of this arrangement obviously
depends on the number of persons employed.
So long as the quantity of business is limited, it is
open to no objection, but in the older streets it
seldom happens that a basement room is large
enough for the accommodation of more than two
or three workmen.
Space.—The following Table exhibits the number
of cubic feet of breathing space enjoyed by
each workman in 26 Bake-houses, the examples
selected being of Bake-houses in which three or
more journeymen are employed during the night.
It is obvious that the quantity of space necessary
varies according to the amount of ventilation, but
it cannot be disputed that any amount less than
500 cubic feet is insufficient. In an ordinary
sleeping-room it is admitted that 300 cubic feet per
person is the minimum, and that anything less
constitutes over-crowding; but during laborious
exertion like that in which the baker is engaged