Artisan's dwellings / by Francis Hooper.

  • Hooper, Francis.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Artisan's dwellings / by Francis Hooper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    4/24 (page 2)
    Eelation of Rent and Wages. In considering the structural requirements of Artisans' Dwell- ings, it is necessary to determine the class of artisans whose requirements are to be met, as the accommodation and household fittings are regulated by the rents obtainable from the tenants. I propose now to confine my remarks to block or tenement buildings in thickly-populated towns suitable for artisans whose weekly wages range from 30s. to 50s. Evidence given before the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes, 1885, goes to show that in a large district in London, where special enquiry was made, upwards of 88 per cent, of the working men were found to pay more than one-fifth of their earnings in rent, and that the average rent of one room, let as a separate tenement, was 3s. lOfd.; of a two- roomed tenement, 6s.; of a three-roomed tenement, 7s. d^d. The Report of the Commission adds, Corroborative evidence is not wanting that the witness erred, if at all, on the side of moderation. The scope of my subject is therefore confined to tenements rented from 6s. to 10s. per week; and here it may be well to remark that the weekly income of an artisan with a family is not arrived at by simple enquiry as to the amount he himself earns ; for in an industrious family not only the wife, but fre- quently the elder children, contribute to the weekly earnings. Selection of Building Site. In selecting a site for Artisans' Dwellings, it is of the highest importance to secure sufficient area, well-drained subsoil, and suitable shape. From measurement of the best-arranged buildings of this class, I find that these occupy on an average aboi;t one-third of the entire site, thus leaving two-thirds for air, light, api)roaclies, and recreation. It is im])ortant, from a commercial point 'of view, that the buildings should be in proximity to the factories, wharves, or other places affording em})loyment for the tenants, or that cheap and rapid means of transit either by rail, omnibus, or tram-car, should exist. Open Spaces. It would appear from an inspection of a large number of existing dwellings erected both by private individuals and limited liability companies, that the front of every block should