Posted with permission of the transcriber, Ann Selchick. Geo SICKNESS & POVERTY IN Nineteenth Century Whitehaven. # 56. NEW HOUSES. These cottages stand on the outskirts of town, on sloping ground, and at an elevation considerably above the low part of town; they were erected by a former Lord Lonsdale, for the use of his miners and laborers. They are built on the side of a hill, and form three rows or streets, the roofs at the back being, in many instances level with the road way in the front of the houses behind, and the roofs of the highest run full against the hillside. There are no sewers or drains, and consequently the roads and houses are damp. On the front row there are 77 tenements and 5 ash pits; in the middle row 111 tenements and 9 ash pits; and on the back row there are 78 tenements and 7 ash pits; total number of houses 266; total number of ash pits, 21. There is not a single privy belonging to the whole property. The ashes are taken away every week by the Earl of Lonsdale's carts for agricultural purposes. The water supply is very inadequate. It is not uncommon to see twenty women waiting at the standpipe for water. In the summer months this frequently fails, and the inhabitants are then obliged to fetch their water for domestic use more than a mile; or they resort to any other nearer place if it can be obtained, even when of inferior quality.. Many of the tenants on the front row complain of the ash pits belonging to the middle row, as these being on level with their roof of their houses behind, the refuse sinks down into their back kitchens, and causes a very bad smell through the whole house; the wind also blows the dust and dirt about. Pigsties and stagnant water in contact with the houses are common. These houses are very seldom clear of fever. The whole surfaces around the houses and roads is covered with human dirt; and on Sundays 10 or 12 men can be seen exposing themselves at one time; with the children, this is the case throughout the week. This property might be perfectly drained, and provided with water closets at a cost not exceeding £3 per house, or £798, which might be made into an annual rent charge of less than 1d a week rental. This would be the extreme cost if the refuse produced no income, but standing as the houses do at an elevation, and all the land in the neighbourhood being the property of Lord Lonsdale, a proper system of water closets and drains with covered tanks to receive the refuse would yield a considerable clear income above the rent charge, or interest of capital, whichever it might be considered or termed. In these 266 houses, there is a population of about 6 persons to one house, or in the whole, 1,596 inhabitants, men, women, and children. ______________________ To be continued.