Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-21
Peabody Town in London.

Peabody Town in London.
 Nearly 8 Million UOIlars spent Near Buu- hill Fields Battle-Ground and What the Outcome is.
 From the PalI Mall Gazett,.l
 The latest and largest creation of the Pea body trustees lies within quarter of an hours walk of St. Paul's, northeast. If you l desire to examine it, make your way up AL l dersgate street, and turning off, on your right, along the Barbicap, proceed next On your left up Whitecross street. Whiteeross
 street is another Glare Market, only this
 eastern mart is little more miscellaneous in the character of it's wares. The street is not savory, but if you can manage to get through | the groups of poor people who frequently ! block the footpath, you will be confronted when you reaeh the top by several lofty Der Of the blocks, we have ventureG to de- scribe as Peabody town. The Peabody tr1s- tees took over from the board Of works some three and half acres of cleared ground, which had for one of it's boundaries Bunhili Fields burial ground. Upon this land, for. merly covered with property of 8 very low order, they have erected dwellings which
 have cost no less sum than e254, 900, or with the price of the land, e194, ,000. Accom- modation only to the extent of Che number
 of people displaced has been provided, but in
 place of narrow lanes and dirty courts there are several wide, well-paved, and we'll
 scavenged streets, and the contrast between
 the past and the present of upper Whitecross
 street is very striking. The buildings which
 were erected by contract were opened in
 part in April, and fully occupied in the
 course of October. The buildings are five
 stories high. The interiors are divided into
 one, two and three room tenements. A typi-
 cal interior cannot we'll be described, for the
 reason that the plans vary according to the
 sites. A staircase will serve in some cases
 twenty tenemen.s, in other cases as many es
 36 tenements will be reached by one stairway.
 The stairs are easy stone steps, so well
 guarded by substantial iron rails that, not
 8ithstanding the great number of children in
 the houses, accidents are said to be very rare.
 The rooms are lair sized apar.ments-say,
 15 feet by 12 feet, with Insight of feet
 and are generally well lighted, Facilities for
 window gardening are provided, and in the
 summer some of these window plots furnish
 pretty sight. Each room is fitted with 8
 self acting ventilator but these vsniiiators
 the tenants occasionally block up Combined
 with the fire place in every lVing-room is
 stnall boiler and ar oven. A cosl box capable
 of holding five hundred weight is let into the
 wall at the entrance to each tenement. The closet and shelf accommodation is good;
 meat safe is in every case to be found upon the top of the kitchen cupboard. Perhaps experience shows'tte rule to be necessary
 which declares Tenants cannot be allowed to paper, paint, or drive nails iuto the walls; still, the bare, cement-l:ke walls, with pie lures hung according to regulation, from strip of wood run along one of the walls, sug geats that in this direction little more hber- ty might with advantage be permitted to the tenants.
 Immediately outside each Set oF tenements are the convenienees. Two families share the use Of small wash up cistsrn, with water-tap above, as also the water closet which adioins. There is small cistarn for each closet under the seat, and the quantity for flush is two gallons. The sexes have closets at opposite sides of the land ings, distinctly marked. Great care has ob, viously been exercised in providing satis- factory water closet system, and the arrange ments, it appears, are rarely reported out of order. On each landing is 6 small dust shoot, communicating with shaft, down which all the refuse passes to compartments in the basement of the houses, which are cleared twice week. The tenants in weekly turn, sweep down their section Of stairs every morning before 10 o'clock, and wash them once every week. An excellent wash ] house, with dryiDg-roon, is open to all the tenants in the staircase block, the turns" of the tenants being fixed by the superinten- dent, who sets apart Mondays for the largest families. There used to be wringing aud drying machines, as in the Columbia House, but they were so recklessl5 used they have been removed. Washing must be dossa only l in the laundry. Every room is cleaned by | the porters of the establishment-each house. 1 block has porter-inspector-a each change l of tenancy, and whitewashing material IS fur l nished to the tenants two OF three times year if they desire it. Each group of dwellings has its bathroom, open without charge, and l it is resorted to by number of the residents. 1 The children are mot allowed to play on the | stairs, in the passages, or In the laundrIss," but the inclosed court-yards in front of the | houses, (which are laid with stones lot in tar, l form admirable playgroands. No finer play ground for children could be desired in l fact, these play grounds constitute the charm 1 of these buildings. The dwellings, we should l not omit to mention, are built of hentish stock l bricks with terra-cotta entrances, and as each | tenement has it's neat black vanished door l with brass knocker, almost in the asstketic | style, the exteriors are as pleasing as the ! interiors appear to be convenient and com- | fortable.
 The blocks of dwellings which we have | named Peabody town comprise IA single | rooms, 372 double rooms, 325 three rooms, | and four rooms, or total of 1883 rooms, | which are divided into 836 tenements. A sin 1 gle room, 15 feet by 12 feet, can be obtained | Tor 3s. per week for two rooms-a living l :oom and a bedroom-5s. is charged; and | he rent for three rooms (two of these being l is 6s. 3d. per week. The single .ooms are occupied principally by spinsters md widows The other occupants of single | ooms are generally recently married people; put this class as 8 rule, do not stay long in hem, it being an ambition with them to get possession of two more apartments. It ,oes almost without saying that the superin- endent watches carefully the increase of population and when family has been SC I nlarged that the apartment or apartments
 originally taken have become overcroTded 1t nust either move to larger tenement or
 uit the dwellings, As no ono is accepted as
 tenant whose character will not bear inves- iQation, so observation of the general con- uct of the tenants is an important part of hS duty of the superintendent Dirtiness nd drunkenness appear to be tho capital of snces The slatterrly or disorderiy house. fife or the dissipated husband are treated at rst to kindly hints as to the desirability of eformation; but if these prove without effect, ut the offenders must go. Generally, how yer s. anxiety is manifested to attain to the one of the town" One of the rules runs
 No arrears of rent Til be allowed, :" but, as
 matter of fact, in cases of bona fide inabih- l 7 to pay through want of work or sickness , considerable degree of forbearance is exer- ised The ninth rule, ssDogs must not be ept on the premises,r seems unnecessarily 3 deprive inc poor man of his t'best friend.'
 complaint commonly made against the 'eaboGy dwellings is that they are closed at 1 at night; but there is nothing in that ob- sction, for every tenant is provided with Q ey which admits him at all hours. But Ihatever may be the criticisms to which the ules are open, they evidently do nos affect 9 the slightest degree the occupation of the
 welIings. The superintendent at Peabody own has now upon his books the names of etWeen 200 and 300 people awaiting a