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22
SIXTH REPORT.
To the Vestry of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe.
Gentlemen,
Having received a message from the Vestry Clerk, Mr. Hawks,
again to examine the row of wooden tenements in Kenning's Buildings,
I went there on the 5th June. Since my previous visit to
the place in March, the condition of these hovels has become more
ruinous, only three of them being now tenanted. The roof of No. 1
has sunk considerably below the level of the rest, many of the
tiles are loose, the door frames of the empty houses broken and
tailing, the privies still more dilapidated, and the weather being
hotter, the exhalations from the uncovered cesspools more volatile
and more offensive.
On the 5th June, the houses 29 and 30, Lower Queen Street, on
the 13th, the house, 133, Rotherhithe Street, on the 17th, the
public house called the "Horns," in Rotherhithe Street, and on the
18th the house, 6, Albert Place, Union Road, were respectively
brought under my notice. In every one of these cases the cesspools
were full, in some overflowing, and the drainage imperfect. Notices
were served.
A licensed maltster has established himself in Clark's Orchard.
From a low chimney on his premises volumes of smoke occasionally
issue, which are a serious source of annoyance to the inhabitants of
the west side of Princes Street, soiling the clothes hung out to dry,
spoiling the curtains and furniture of the back rooms, and producing
other serious inconveniences. Nor is the smoke the only grievance ;
there accompanies it a disagreeable smell, which pervades the whole
district, and which has been noticed as far as Church Stairs. I
have thought it necessary to report this matter to the Vestry.
Mr. Sanders, the Inspector, penetrated, not without some difficulty,
into the premises, in Clark's Orchard, and warned the occupiers
of the consequences of causing such a nuisance as that
complained of. During the last ten days, I have been told by the
inhabitants of Princes Street, that it has ceased.
In furtherance of the plan expressed in one of my previous Reports
of making a methodical examination of all the houses in
Rotherhithe, to carry out as far as possible the provisions of the Act
of Parliament, on the 12th and on the 16th of June I visited
Spread Eagle Court and four of the houses adjacent to it, namely
Nos. 45, 46, 47, and 48, Church Street. Every house was individually
and minutely examined, and notes on its state recorded in
the Inspector's book.
I will not take up your valuable time by describing to you all
the filthy details seen by us, suffice it to say, that almost all the
houses were overcrowded with inmates, dilapidated, and swarming with
myriads of bugs. Many of the inhabitants complained that the quantity