“There are 21 houses in this street, several consisting of four or five rooms, occupied by separate families. and again sublet by them to eight
or ten, or sometimes twelve to fourteen persons, nearly all Irish, having
but the limited accommodation of one room, in which they sleep in beds made of shavings and rags, on the floor, with windows closed and the fire-places stopped up, breathing the same atmosphere over and over again; this very room having been used for all household purposes during the day, and in some instances having had wet clothes hung up to dry in it. Previous to the institution Of the Sanitary Board, I seldom visited these houses unless in search of bad characters. Since then I have had recent experience of the misery, disease, and death generated by these ill-regulated and over-crowded dwellings.
I found five beds in one room, six men in each bed, three with their heads in one direction, and three with their heads in the other, one had fever; these are mostly Irish lodging-houses of the worst class.
In one instance I found 42 human beings sleeping in a room of 12 feet by 14 feet. The atmosphere was insufferable.
It is no uncommon occurrence to find old women or children sleeping
in cupboards with the doors closed, and in one case the straw bed had not been changed for two years, and in another the mother Of the tenant was found With three grandchildren sleeping in a small cupboard 20 inches wide, and 4b feet long.
The tenants are willing to pay 2d. or 3d. a week for water, but the landlord refuses to make the necessary outlay for fittings, &c., although offered by the Water Company at reduced rate.
This street has no drains or surface gutters, and is always in a filthy state, as all slops and refuse are thrown into the highway. One side of the street is in the new, and the other side in the old borough, and this may account for the neglected state of the place.
There is a slaughter-house here, lately erected, adding to the impurities of the place.
divided into four compartments, each of which let 2s6d. a week, being 26l. per annum to the landlord, and no poor rates to be deducted.”
Such is Mr. English’s account. When I visited the place I saw quite enough to bear out its leading features, although something had been done temporarily to promote cleanliness
Report to the General Board Health on the Sewerage, Drainage, and Supply of Water, and the Sanitary Condition of the Inhabitants of the Borough of NEWPORT.
George Thomas Clark
Clark Report, Pp 21-22
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