W1A-020 Dublin housing-0.txt
The Dublin Improvement Scheme 1877

Upon receipt of the above reports, the Public Health Committee of the Corporation, of which Mr. E. Dwyer Gray was chairman, promptly acted and constituted an Artisans Dwellings Committee. A scheme was devised under the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Improvement Act 1875, for the improvement of two unhealthy areas in the city. Of the twelve areas reported on by Dr. Mapother and Parke Neville C.E., the Committee decided on the Elbow Lane area (hereafter referred to as the Coombe area) and the Boyne Street area as the most suitable to be dealt with at that time. Some of the other areas were in a worse sanitary condition but various difficulties stood in the way of their being cleared. It was found for example that the Bull Lane Area, which the Committee was very anxious to deal with, would cost a very large sum owing to the number of licensed houses and other valuable property that would have to be purchased. The Committee finally settled on these two areas after consultation with the Artisans Dwellings Company who was to build upon the sites and whose opinion therefore, carried great weight with the Committee.

In 1879 Dr. Mapother again reported on the unhealthy condition of the Plunkett Street area and recommended an Improvement scheme. At the same time the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Committee decided to postpone proceedings with the Boyne Street area until their proceedings in the Coombe were nearer completion. The following year the Boyne Street area was abandoned. This was largely because the loan taken out to pay for the original two schemes of the Coombe and Boyne areas had been used entirely on the Coombe scheme. Also there had been a decrease in the number of dwellings and in the population of the Boyne Street area. In 1876 the area contained eighteen habited and eight uninhabited dwellings, occupied by ninety five people. In 1880 there were eight dwellings remaining, occupied by fifty eight people. Five of these dwellings were in the process of being closed because of their condition. In effect the area had been cleared, although it would not now benefit in the way the Coombe area did. The Plunkett Street Area was thought to be more suited to a clearance scheme and it received the Royal Assent in August 1880. (R.P.D.C.D.1880 Vol. 2.)

Area 1 - The Coombe

This included the entire district, bounded on the south by the Upper Coombe, on the west by Pimlico, on the north by Cole Alley and on the east by Meath Street. It was a much more extended area than that reported on by the Medical Officer and the City Engineer, but the Committee felt justified in extending the boundaries for purposes of widening roadways and for ventilation and the extended area also included houses and yards which were in an equally insanitary state as those in the above reports.

The Coombe area seemed an attractive site. Although the area was large, much of it was unoccupied and it did not contain either factories or licensed premises and so it was thought that the site would be acquired at a moderate cost. At the beginning of the nineteenth century manufacturers of cotton, linen, starch and many tradesmen lived in the area but by 1878 when the ground was purchased there was not a single merchant, manufacturer or trader in the entire area. (R.P.D.C.D. 1884 Vol.2;69) It was an open area and was not densely populated. Before it was cleared it contained 110 dwellings and about 380 separate tenancies with a population of 984, which was equal to about 46 per acre. In fact the population of this area increased to 1,100 when new homes were built in the area.

The area formed a part of what was formerly called "The Liberty", which prior to 1840 was not under the jurisdiction of the Corporation and consequently did not pay city rates. The portion of ground taken was the property of the Earl of Meath who was the owner in fee and many leases for lives renewable for ever had been made by his predecessors towards the end of the seventeenth century. Before the arbitrator some of the claimants asserted a right to the fee for which the Earl of Meath had already been compensated; they grounded their claims on the statute of limitations only, alleging that they had not for over fifty years paid rent to anyone - the representatives of the original leases of 1691 did not know that they should have had possession of those grounds and houses until they were so informed by the Corporation.

The Corporation paid very dearly for the property, because although it was required for public purposes it had to be purchased at market value. Seven property owners dissented from the proposed scheme under the impression that by "dissenting" from the proposal they would get more money for their property than if they had "assented". The compensation for trade disturbance was very large although in many cases the business was moved only a few yards away from the original locality and was little if at all prejudiced or damaged by the move. For example a dairy owner who had been awarded £ 164 by the arbitrator was awarded £ 200 by a jury and £ 550 for trade disturbance although he later established a very fine yard at the upper end of Blackpitts in the immediate neighbourhood of the Coombe. A green-grocer who had been awarded £ 315 by the arbitrator was awarded £ 350 by a jury for the value of premises and £ 250 for trade disturbance. She opened a new shop immediately afterwards within a couple of doors of her former shop. (R.P.D.C.D. 1884 Vol. 2 No 170)

The total cost to the Corporation was £ 24,367 12s.10d., of which £ 15,983 19s. 8d. was paid in compensation. The area contained about four acres and the total government valuation was £ 424, so that the purchase of the property cost at the rate of about 3,800 per acre, or nearly thirty-eight years purchase on the government valuation.

The weekly tenants were allowed by the arbitrator six months purchase on their weekly rents and the Earl of Meath's title was purchased for £ 3,038 2s. 5d., equal to about fourteen years purchase on the rental he received from this property. The loans taken up by the Corporation to carry the scheme into effect were repayable within fifty years with interest at the rate of three and a half per cent. (R.P.D.C.D. 1884 Vol. 2;95)

Having acquired and cleared the area the Corporation granted a lease of it for 10,000 years to the Dublin Artisans Dwellings Company at a rent of £ 200 per year. The Corporation was anxious that a company with objectives similar to its own should lease the area. Granting a lease to one company rather than to several individuals, even though the Company would pay less rent, had two main advantages. Firstly the Corporation and citizens were sure to get the rent and taxes due, and there was less danger of the condition of the houses deteriorating it was in the interest of the company to maintain or repair the property in order to pay a dividend. Secondly, where an area is let out to several individuals some are liable to build inferior houses, to neglect repairs and finally the houses begin to deteriorate and to decrease in value, resulting in a vacation of the properties and a loss of rates. Although under the Act of 1875 Dublin Corporation was authorized to rebuild on the area, once the houses were sold within ten years, at this time it was considered more desirable that the Coorporation limit their activities to the less restrictive practice of purchasing areas and selling or letting the ground for the building of homes for the working class.

The Dublin Artisans Dwellings Company was well respected and negotiations took place between the Company and Dublin Corporation. It was agreed that the roads and footpaths would be curbed and asphalted by the Corporation, who would also be responsible for the sewerage and the laying of the water mains. The Company was to spend at least £ 20,000 on building artisans dwellings on the site, subject to the approval of the Corporation.

The Company spent £ 27,600 on building 210 houses, six of which were used as shops and two being occupied by caretakers - in all housing a population of 1,100.

Four classes of houses were built on the site. Ninety two one-storey cottages containing one living room and one or two bedrooms were built of Portland cement concrete and had a scullery, coalhouse and privy with a yard at the back opening onto a cleansing passage. They were built at an average cost of £ 82.10s One hundred and fourteen two-storey houses, containing two living rooms and two bed rooms or one large sitting room and two bed rooms were built at an average cost of £ 165 and £ 115 each respectively. The front and end walls of the houses were of red brick and the partition and yard walls of concrete. Four houses of three storeys were built to be used as shops. Each house had its own water supply, brought in from the back via the cleansing passage. The surfaces of the yards were laid in concrete so that "no foul matter could percolate into the earth"." (R.P.D.C.D. 1884 Vol. 2;97)

The Company received 3s.6d. and 4s. per week rent for the one storey cottages, 6s.6d and 7s per week for the two storey houses and 5s.6d. for the three-roomed houses, totaling £ 2,680 per annum. These rents were quite high and it is clear that the Artisans Dwelling Company catered for the more prosperous and more securely employed sections of the working class. Of the 202 tenants only 61 were labourers, with the remainder belonging to the skilled working class with a few members of the lower middle class. For example there were eight carpenters, seven tailors, three clerks and two cab owners. 107 of the families came from streets within a half-mile radius of the Coombe, 53 from streets immediately adjoining, 25 from the north side of the city and 17 from the suburbs. It was found that the houses and tenements in the vicinity that were vacated by the new Coombe tenants were re-occupied by a lower class of artisans, tradespeople and labourers and it was argued that a sort of levelling up process was taking place, with the lower strata also benefiting by moving into better tenements. (R.P.D.C.D. 1884 Vol 2.. No 150)

The Coombe Area scheme was generally considered to be a success. The houses were of a high standard with good sanitary facilities and were never untenanted. There was a notable decrease in the death rate. From June to December 1883 there were only 11 deaths none of which were infectious. At a public inquiry in April 1877, prior to the authorization of the scheme, Dr. Grimshaw listed the Coombe area as one where fever and cholera prevailed. Looking at it from a monetary point of view, there was a gain to the ratepayers. Prior to the scheme, total rates from the area averaged £ 65. In 1883 total rates paid was £ 611. The government valuation of the area also increased dramatically. In 1876 the Coombe Area was valued at £ 424 and in 1883 it was valued at £ 1,429.15.0. Traders in the immediate area benefited from the improved class in the area. Those who did not benefit from the scheme were the very poor who could afford only a minimal rent.

Area 2 Plunkett Street

This area of about two acres, was bounded by Hanover Lane on the south and Back Lane on the north and included all of Plunkett Street extending from Patrick Street to Francis Street. There were 161 dwelling houses in the area and their conditions had deteriorated considerably since Dr. Mapothers report in 1876, so much so that 28 had been compulsorily depopulated and were vacant in 1880. Most of the others were more or less unfit for habitation. They were positioned in narrow lanes without yards and therefore lacked suitable sanitary facilities. There was not one substantial dwelling house remaining in the area. The area was inhabited by 373 families. With the exception of some butchers the population consisted almost exclusively of the humblest class. (R.P.D.C.D. 1879 Vol. 3)
