PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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HOUSES FOR THE WORKING CLASSES, DEVONPORT
Under the authority of the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890, in April 1897 Devonport Corporation appointed inspectors to visit other towns in England and view their housing provision. When that inspection was completed, a report was submitted to the Housing of the Working Classes Committee. The report was signed by Mr H Whitfeld, chairman of the Committee; Mr W J Waycott, the Mayor of Devonport; and Messrs W Hornbrook, W Ford and C Goodman; the Town Clerk; the Borough Surveyor; and the Medical Officer of Health. The report recommended that the James Street and Ordnance Street area should be scheduled for demolition and redevelopment. It had already been condemned by the Medical Officer of Health. The recommendation was adopted on July 20th 1897 and promoted a Local Government Provisional Order. In February 1898, despite much opposition from landowners at a public inquiry, the Order was made by the Local Government Board and confirmed by Act of Parliament. James Street
The work of demolishing the 'wretched hovels and dilapidated buildings' of Bragg's Alley and erecting these two new blocks of properties was completed in September 1900. The first block occupied faced up Catherine Street and consisted of three shops on the ground floor, with stores behind, each with three residential flats on the first floor approached by a separate entrance and staircase. One flat had a living room and a bedroom while the second and third had two bedrooms in addition to the living room. Each flat had its own scullery and lavatory. The second floor repeated this layout. Between that block and Duncan Street was the second block of six properties. With the exception of the last one, on the corner with Duncan Street, each had a street frontage of 40 feet. Again with the exception of the last property, each had two residential flats on each of ground, first and second floors. The ones of the ground floor had a living room and one bedroom while those of the other two floors each had a living room and two bedrooms, all with their own scullery and lavatory. The last property was similar but being slightly larger than the others it also contained a lock-up shop. All the buildings were constructed of local brick with Portland cement facings. The frontages in James Street were picked out with square pilasters of Portland cement, as were the entrance ways. The staircases were fire-proof. When completed, there would be accommodation for 141 people. The buildings were designed by Devonport's Borough Surveyor, Mr J Burns, and constructed by Mr S Roberts, of Plymouth, at a cost of around £8,000. The total cost was said to be £14,700. The rent imposed as a result amounted to between five shillings and 6s 9d per week for a bedroom, sitting-room and scullery. It was stated that the ideal rent would be three shillings but the price of the land made such a prospect unlikely. During the stone-laying ceremony praise was heaped upon Mr Whitfeld, of whom the Mayor, Mr W Hornbrook, said: 'Mr Whitfeld had no other reward, for he had sought to gain nothing but the good-will and love of the boys and girls and men and women of Devonport'. Ordnance Street The memorial stone for the Ordnance Street blocks was laid by Mr George S Bennee, the then chairman of the Housing of the Working Classes Committee, on Wednesday August 6th 1902*. Also present were the Mayor of Devonport, Mr Edgar M Leest, and his Deputy, Mr T H Gill; the Town Clerk, Mr A B Pilling; the Borough Surveyor, Mr John F Burns; the Borough Treasurer, Mr J B Hoare; a representative of the Devonport School Board, Mr W J Moon; and the Chief Constable, Mr J Matters. Mr A N Coles was the contractor for the three blocks of buildings, which would provide 63 self-contained dwellings of two and three rooms each. The total cost was expected to be £17,500. After the ceremony refreshments were taken in a marquee erected on the site and in which an inscribed, silver cup was presented by Mr Coles to the Mayor. The proposed rents for these properties, comprising bedroom, sitting-room and scullery, ranged between 5 shillings and 6s 9d. * This a correction to the previous text, which read 1901. This was purely a typing error that was not spotted and should have read 1902. Sources:
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