The Dwellings of the Labouring Classes (1855) – Henry Roberts Case Study
10 Dwellings of England’s 19th Century Labouring Classes
View of the Model buildings near Bagnigge Wells
Great Britain was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, which brought with it new technologies and new ways of life. Urban centers were becoming overcrowded as the labouring classes grew and the streets were filled with garbage and human waste. Disease epidemics struck during the mid 19th century with smallpox, cholera and typhoid devastating Europe and North America. The desperation during this time led to sanitation improvements that dramatically decreased the spread of communicable diseases. In 1842, Britain’s leading health reformer, Edwin Chadwick, published a report about the sanitary conditions of the labouring classes in Great Britain, which highlighted the connection between overcrowded conditions, lack of adequate disposal of human waste, and diseases.
Henry Roberts was an important figure during this time. He was a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the honorary architect to the Society for Improving the Conditions for the Labouring Classes, which was established in 1844 under the patronage of the Queen with Prince Albert as their president. As their name suggests, their goal was to improve the living conditions of the labouring classes by studying the plans and arrangements of dwellings to create available Models with sound principles that could be adopted in the Metropolis and in the Manufacturing and Agricultural Districts. Over five years, they created successive Models and improved dwellings that were adapted to the varied circumstances of the labouring classes. Their work was criticized as being overly complicated and not likely to make a profit as an investment. To combat this, they published a case study with experiments to demonstrate by experience that indeed a return could be obtained from an investment in improving the dwellings of the labouring classes. Their main objective was to combine what was essential to the health, comfort and moral habits of the labouring classes and their families. This meant close attention being paid to the ventilation, drainage, and an ample supply of water. Another important aspect of this was bringing the water closet and increased hygiene into the home. Below are just ten examples of the floor plans from Henry Robert’s case study The Dwellings of the Labouring Classes (1855).
Double Houses Adapted to Towns
These dwellings were intended to be as workmen’s dwellings in towns. On grounds of economy, they were built in pairs; ranging from two to four tenement spaces, with up to three bedrooms in each to accommodate families. Each tenement space has a water closet with a window, located next to the scullery.
Family Houses for Workmen
Here are two floor plans of Family Houses for Workmen, both built by the Metropolitan Association. The plans are mirrored, sharing plumbing walls. Robert Henry criticized these arrangements for lacking proper ventilation, which was due to a window tax at the time that presented serious barriers to improving spaces.
Model Lodging House
This Model Lodging House was to accommodate 104 working men in one of the worst neighborhoods to make even more clear the beneficial results of improving the dwelling conditions. There were four floors of dormitories above the ground floor, with one water closet on each level. The aim of this arrangement was to provide everything deemed essential or valuable, which while conducive to the health and physical comfort of the individuals was also thought to increase their self respect and well being. During a time when cholera was ravaging neighboring dwellings, not one case occurred among the 104 tenements in this Model Lodging House.
Model Houses for Families
This Model House for Families was to accommodate 48 families. With such a large number of families in a single building, it was extremely important to preserve domestic privacy and to keep the apartments distinct and separate in order to prevent any communication of contagious disease. This was accomplished by avoiding separate staircases or other internal communications between stories, and by instead using one common open staircase that led into corridors and galleries that were open to a spacious quadrangle on one side.
Asylum for Destitute Sailors
Perhaps the most simple of these plans is the Asylum for Destitute Sailors, which was a converted warehouse to shelter and provide food for shipwrecked seamen. The open air yard contained the water closet and provided any arrangements for washing or bathing.
Model Houses for Four Families
Prince Albert had this building constructed to present at the Great Exhibition of 1851 to excite visitors and promote improving the dwellings of the labouring classes. Each bedroom has access to a window and the water closet is fitted with a glazed basin that contains no wood fittings. Ventilation was carefully considered and the arrangement was thoughtfully laid out to minimize any communication of contagious diseases.
The Thanksgiving Model
The Thanksgiving Model contains dwellings raised for twenty families, and for one hundred and twenty-eight single women. An existing building has been converted into a washhouse for the tenants as well as the neighborhood. The washhouse is heated with hot water, containing thirty-four washing troughs, twelve ironing tables, a wringing apparatus, two baths and twelve drying horses.
The Windsor Royal Society Cottages
The Windsor Royal Society Cottages were designed with two rows of cottages opposite one another. They accommodated about forty families, each having a small garden. A central building combines a superintendent’s residence, a bake house, wash house, bath, fuel store and a 3,000 gallon cistern for the general supply of the houses. These cottages were reported to have a degree of healthiness that was above the general average of the town, with zero deaths from cholera.
Double Cottages
These Double Cottages were designed in pairs, locating the entrances on opposite ends to separate the spaces while locating the chimney stack at the center to maximize warmth in both spaces. Three bedrooms were to provide ample space to separate the sexes, which was considered to be essential to morality and decency.
Lodging House for Unmarried Labourers
The Lodging House for Unmarried Labourers was intended to provide a comfortable, cheap and healthy abode. It was one that was free from the temptations and immorality of a crowded cottage where the married and unmarried were thought to contaminate each other. A selected library and garden were provided to amuse the young men to avoid nights spent at the beer shop.
Conclusion
It cannot be understated just how great of an impact the Industrial Revolution had on people’s lives. While there is much to praise about the new technology and innovation that came about during this time, it is important to acknowledge its dark side. The Industrial Revolution cannot be separated from the broader context of the time. As people flooded to urban areas for work, there wasn’t adequate infrastructure to handle the increase in population and no labor laws to protect the labouring classes from being exploited under capitalism. The sweeping change left the poor and labouring classes in squalor, living in crowded and filthy conditions exasperated by multiple disease epidemics. During this time, dwellings of the labouring classes were being cleared away to make room for modern improvements, which only aggravated the already dire situation. Many innovations from this time came about in response to desperate situations. With so many people to house at a time when contagious diseases were a top concern, it was necessary to create options that were economical and healthful.
There was a growing awareness around the poor living conditions of the labouring classes. In 1848, the first public health act came into effect, which required any new or remodeled dwellings to include a bathroom. One of the most meaningful architectural manifestations of the new innovation and technology from this time was bringing the bathroom into the home. If architecture evolves to reflect our everyday experiences, the introduction of the bathroom into homes would forever change that everyday experience of not only individuals but the society at large.
The benefits of improving the dwellings of the labouring classes laid out by the Henry Roberts case study are undeniable, from improving the comfort and well being of individuals to combating the spread of deadly diseases. As we currently face a housing crisis with over half a million unhoused Americans, I can’t help but long for a similar but contemporary effort to improve the living conditions of not only the working class, but people in general. The attention paid to our connection and relationships with our built environment in these case studies is remarkable. It was knowledge that was used to better not only individual’s lives but their broader communities and society. Henry Roberts quotes one landlord:
“To improve the dwellings of the labouring class, and afford them the means of greater cleanliness, health, and comfort in their own homes; to extend education, and thus raise the social and moral habits of those most valuable members of the community, are among the first duties, and ought to be amongst the truest pleasures, of every landlord.” (19)
As history shows us, too often social change doesn’t come about until the situation is so dire that it reaches the upper classes and therefore cannot be ignored. As we face compounding crises with the Covid-19 pandemic, commodifying basic human needs such as housing and healthcare, impending climate change and a mental health crisis, just to name a few, I can’t help but hope that change is around the corner. One thing that was striking to me was that in order for the ideas of Henry Roberts and the Society for Improving the Conditions of the Labouring Classes to be taken seriously, they had to prove that it could be profitable in order to be practical. When will we prioritize people over profits when it comes to our basic needs and well being?
Bibliography
Roberts, Henry. The Dwellings of the Labouring Classes (1855). London: Society for Improving the Condition of the Working Classes, 1855. Internet Archive.
“The Victorian Age: Prim and Proper Piss Pots.” The Porcelain God: a Social History of the Toilet, by Julie L. Horan, Carol Publishing Group, 1997, pp. 77–103.
Image source
https://archive.org/details/dwellingslabouringclasses/page/n81/mode/2up
