The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-03 00:00:00

BILLINGSGATE MARKET.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
The front building of Billingsgate Market, next to
Thames-street, is now drawing towards completion. It
presents five archways towards the street, each archway
being sufficiently broad to admit a large-sized waggon.
On the top of these archways, one story of a warehouse,
intended for depositing dried fish, is now erected. The
walls of the building, like the front facing the river, are
substantially built with granite and brickwork. The
stands or forms for the wholesalesmen and factors have
not yet made their appearance ; when erected, however,
it is said they are to be regular fixtures, and composed
of marble slabs on top, or thick glass. This idea will
certainly be a decided improvement as regards appear-
ance, and will be much easier washed than boards, as
they are at present.
There still seems to be a great want of system as re-
gards the method of keeping the market properly clean,
which attention ought to be drawn to. Recently
whilst walking by the market, I was attracted by a
noise from the water falling from the fountain into the
basin that stands in the middle of the market. Think-
ing to see a dozen or more men busily engaged scrubbing
and washing down the market in a regular ship-shape
way, I turned in to view their operations. The engine
below being industriously at work, the fountain
was playing most beautifully, emptying a large stream
of water into the basin, which was overflowing ; the
water running out in streams from the mouths of 12 dol-
phins' heads (fitted round the brim of the basin) had a
very pleasing effect. I was rather disappointed, how-
ever, at seeing such a poor display at what I will term
washing decks. Two men and a lad were all that I saw
going on with the operation of cleansing the market.
One was using a broom sweeping the loose straw and
garbage into a shovel held by another, whilst the lad
was running about, first to the fountain for a bucket of
water, and then carrying it to some part of the market,
heaving it down without apparent skill how a ship's
decks ought to be washed. Being an old sailor myself,
and knowing that there can be nothing done well on
shipboard unless proper discipline and system is the
order of the day, an idea readily occurred to me that
that was not the way Billingsgate Market ought to
be cleansed out, especially now there are such faci-
lities made for supplying an abundance of water.
All disciplined mariners are aware, when a regu-
lar system is adopted to wash a ship's decks, the
operation is simple and effective. When the boat-
swain of a ship turns up all hands to wash decks, his
first order is to "sweep down" the loose particles being
swept away. The next order given is to "wet the decks."
Water is now hove indiscriminately about the decks un-
til they are wet all over. The next order given is to
" scrub the decks." Each man now takes a scrubbing
brush in hand and scrubs the part of deck allotted to
him. Scrubbing finished, the next order given is "wash
down the decks." All hands now stand in a line from
the place where water is to be had and hand the buckets
from one to another, until they reach the party whose
duty it is to heave the water on the deck or on the bul-
warks, or where he sees fit. On board of small vessels
this duty is invariably performed by the mate. On
board of large vessels, either the junior or petty officers
are appointed to slash about the water. Whilst the water
is being hove on deck to wash down, one or two brooms
follow to facilitate the operation. The decks being now
thoroughly washed, the next order is to "swab down
the decks." The operation of swabbing is to dry them
down. On board of men-of-war and well regulated
ships, the whole operation of sweeping, wetting, scrub-
bing, washing down, and swabbing the decks is all per-
formed in about an hour. By establishing a proper
system for washing a ship's decks or a market place, the
operation is done quicker and much more effectually than
if it is not gone regularly about. The same system that
is adopted to wash a ship's decks ought to be employed
for cleansing out Billingsgate. In fact, even swabbing
out the market ought not to be omitted ; particularly
the lower part of it where it is so level. Pools of water
will always lodge about there unless it be very dry
swept or swabbed up. Another suggestion worthy to
be noticed is, all the paint work about the market within
the height of a man's body, ought to be scrubbed with
warm water and soap at least once a month. Just now
much of the paint work where persons hands and clothes
touch, is about one-eighth of an inch thick with fish
scales—not very agreeable for well-dressed visitors to be
leaning up against. The railings that surround the sky-
light of the subterranean shell fish market already re-
quires, not only scrubbing and washing, but scraping
nd fresh painting,