CUMBERLAND-L Archives
Archiver > CUMBERLAND > 2002-03 > 1017491335
From: "Melville Cowin" <>
Subject: [CUL] Re: Littledale Lane and Mount Pleasant
Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 12:28:55 -0000
References: <3CA3436C.1B0B@sentex.net> <008a01c1d73b$427e4ba0$bd00e150@dan> <3CA4A241.351C@sentex.net>
Amanda,
Littledale Lane led up to Mount Pleasant via a series of steps. The
following extract from a report of an inquiry conducted in 1849 by Sir
Robert Rawlinson, Superintending Inspector, to the General Board of Health
could well be referring to Littledale Lane when he refers to the approach to
Mount Pleasant.
Rawlinson's report is thorough, detailed and blunt. Mount Pleasant he
describes as "a congregation of most wretched dwellings, situated on the
side of a hill, and they are principally approached by steps much worn,
broken, and in a ruinous condition. Many of the tenements cannot be called
rooms, they are so dreary, black and loathsome; some of them were formerly
used as nail-maker's shops, and without any alterations or cleansing from
that time . . . There are about 1,825 inhabitants in Mount Pleasant, without
any form of privy accommodation, or any regular supply of water. There are
no public or
private lamps throughout the year".
Rawlinson acknowledges that the fault does not always lie with the tenant:
"Amidst these scenes of utter destitution, misery, and extreme degradation
in Whitehaven, there are, however, instances of a desire for cleanliness,
even in some of the worst places; and it is most painful to contemplate the
hopeless position of such persons, who are generally English, and have known
better times and happier days, confined in narrow courts or crowded rooms,
and surrounded with dirt and neglect, striving to keep their own particular
place clean and neat.
Rawlinson was equally damning of the nearby New Houses in the Preston
Quarter of Whitehaven.
Concerning New Houses, he writes: "These cottages stand on the outskirts of
the town, on sloping ground, and at an elevation considerably above the low
part of the town; they were erected by a former Lord Lonsdale, for the use
of his miners and labourers. They are built on the side of a hill, and form
three rows or streets, the roofs being, in many instances, level with the
roadway in front of the house 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; on the middle row 111 tenements
and 9 ash-pits; on the back row 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 20 women waiting at the stand pipe 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 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 a level with the 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".
Things may have improved between 1849 and 1891 though I doubt it.
Demolition started in the 1950's.
Mel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave and Amanda Roberts" <>
To: "Melville Cowin" <>
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2002 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: [CUL] Map
> Melville Cowin wrote:
> > All the houses in this area were demolished many years ago.
> Thanks Mel!
>
> Would they have been considered "slums" even back then do you suppose?
>
> Amanda
>
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