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24
Many of the houses in the district are faulty in that the ground floor is below
the level of the adjoining pavement. This difference of level is, it is stated, due to the
paving of the street or yard at a date subsequent to the erection of the houses. The
difference between the two levels varies in different streets; in some cases it is not more
than a lew inches, in others two feet or more. The effect of the level of the floor being
below the adjoining paving is to give opportunity for water, from rain or otherwise, to enter
from the street or yard, and to lead to dampness and unwholsomeness of such houses.
With certain exceptions, the houses of newer Rotherhithe are provided with open
space at their rear, and with through ventilation, but in some instances this space is
encroached on by wooden erections which darken and impede the ventilation of the back
rooms.
The watercloset in connection with every house inspected during the inquiry was
found to be situated outside the house, and usually in the back yard, Not uncommonly it
is a considerable distance from the house, and the drainage instead of passing directly into
the sewer beneath the roadway, discharges into a drain common to a group of houses, and
situated in their rear, this drain eventually passing beneath a house into the road sewer;
thus in each group of houses all but one are practically secure against drain nuisance.
Waterclosets in Rotherhithe are almost invariably fitted with pans of the long hopper
kind, and with the exception of houses recently erected are generally not supplied with
water, the flushing being effected by the use of pails. In respect of waterclosets to which
water has been laid on, each has its supply through a cistern, but in numerous instances
the fittings are defective, and the discharge pipe itself of insufficient diameter. Closet
pans, especially where no provision had been made for flushing, were abundantly found
dirty and offensive. In man}' cases these receptacles were worn out, corroded, and
sometimes broken, giving rise to definite nuisance; the whole closet structure, moreover, in
certain cases was ruinous. The sufficiency of watercloset accommodation in respect of
number of persons inhabiting each house was found generally to be sufficient.
The waste pipes of sinks and the overflow pipes of cisterns are in almost all cases
aerially disconnected from the drains; only in exceptional instances during our inspection
did we find drain connection to exist.
Rotherhithe is supplied with water by two companies, the Southwark and Vauxhall,
and the Kent Water Companies. In the districts of both companies the houses are on
constant service. With few exceptions each house has its own supply; in a few instances
a tap common to several houses is situated in the court yard in front. The house supply
is usually drawn from a tap directly connected with the company's main through a service
pipe commonly fixed against the wall of the house. In numerous cases the tap was either
faulty or left turned on, so that water escaped and washed out the mortar joints of the
brickwork rendering the walls of same damp, and also destroying the setting of the bricks
or stones with which the yard is paved. In other cases the water to a house is first
received from the company's main directly into a cistern often situated over the watercloset
and occasionally supplying it directly with water.
The condition of houses in Rotherhithe in regard to state of repair and cleanliness is
necessarily not uniform, but in those occupied by poor persons, and these constitute a
large proportion of the houses in the older part of the district, there is evidence of marked
sanitary neglect. Throughout the whole of the area which came most under our
observation, houses were to be abundantly found with defective roofs, admitting rain, with
damp and broken plaster on walls, worn out and broken floors, dilapidated window frames,
dilapidated staircases and dirty interiors; the external condition of such premises
corresponded with that within, broken eaves gutters, broken and defective rain water pipes,
defective pointing of walls, permitting damp to freely enter the house, dilapidated waterclosets
with foul or broken pans, and an absence of water supply to same. The yards are
as a rule either unpaved, or the paving very limited in extent, and usually so imperfect as
to constitute a nuisance. Bricks or flag stones are commonly used, which at the time of
inspection were found broken into numerous fragments, preventing drainage of the surface,