CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



poor-rates, at 4 per cent. to be repaid by thirty 

 yearly instalments ; and that the minimum charges, 

 for the benefit of the poor, should not exceed one 

 penny for a cold bath, twopence for a warm bath, 

 and one penny per hour for laundry conveniences. 

 The parish of St Martin's-in- the- Fields was the 

 first to take advantage of the new act ; and before 

 the close of 1852, six parishes had erected public 

 baths and wash-houses, and in each establishment 

 attempts were made to introduce improvements 

 in the practical details. At the beginning of 1856, 

 the list had nearly doubled. The Marylebone 

 Public Baths and Wash-houses had from the first 

 paid their working expenses, and contributed to- 

 wards defraying the cost of construction ; but in 

 some of the others the bathers and washers have 

 been barely numerous enough to pay the working 

 expenses. 



In the extra-metropolitan counties of England 

 and Wales (Scotland and Ireland were not in- 

 cluded in the provisions), Liverpool was the first 

 town to adopt the Baths and Wash-houses Act ; 

 four or five establishments are maintained in 

 different parts of the town. By the Return pre- 

 pared in 1865, it was found that, though much 

 good had been wrought, it scarcely realised the 

 anticipations which had been entertained ; for, 

 in nearly twenty years since the passing of the 

 act, only 25 towns out of 192 had adopted it. 

 Some of the very large towns, such as Liverpool 

 and Manchester, have special powers for these and 

 allied purposes conferred by acts applying to those 

 towns alone. The most costly single establish- 

 ment is at Birmingham, the outlay having been 

 ^46,000. 



The public and private baths of the metropolis, 

 all included, are about fifty in number. 



The Local Government Act (1858) affords facili- 

 ties apart from those above noticed, for the estab- 

 lishment of baths and wash-houses. Bathing and 

 washing are regarded as being among the numer- 

 ous sanitary matters of which the Act empowers 

 the authorities of a town to take cognizance. So 

 far as power is concerned, this Local Improve- 

 ment Act (which has been largely adopted), 

 coupled with the former acts, would suffice for 

 the supply of most of our large towns with public 

 baths and wash-houses ; but there is reason to 

 believe that the citizens have been rather remiss 

 in taxing themselves for this purpose. 



In nearly all the London baths and wash- 

 houses, which may also be taken as types of 

 those in the country, the characteristic features 

 are as follows : The baths for males and females 

 are on opposite sides of the building, separated 

 in some instances by the washing-room, and in 

 others by the plunging-baths. The separate 

 baths, in large, well-lighted and well-ventilated 



512 



rooms, are shut in by walls generally of slate, 

 and the baths themselves, supplied with fifty 

 or sixty gallons of water for each bather, are 

 either of zinc or enamelled iron. There are two, 

 three, or four classes of baths, charged differ- 

 ently according to the amount of accommodation 

 afforded. In some instances there are tepid as 

 well as cold swimming or plunging baths ; while 

 two or three of them afford facilities for shower 

 and vapour baths. 



Much more interesting, however, are the wash- 

 houses, as examples of a great improvement The 

 washing-room is provided with numerous small 

 compartments, doorless and roofless, each for one 

 person. Each compartment contains a boiler and 

 a washing-tub, with taps for hot water, cold water, 

 waste water, and steam : all unlimited in quantity, 

 wilful waste, of course, being guarded against. 

 An American washing-board assists the opera- 

 tions ; and a rack-work stand protects the feet. 

 The steam from ah 1 the compartments is carried 

 upwards to one great ventilating shaft. The 

 ' wringing ' of the wet washed linen is effected 

 by putting the articles into a sort of perforated 

 cylinder, which is then rotated with great velo- 

 city; the centrifugal force drives out the water 

 through the perforations and interstices, leaving 

 the linen, though damp, much drier than it can 

 be made by the familiar laundry process. The 

 clothes are then taken to the drying-room, where 

 they are hung on frames or 'horses' in small 

 chambers heated with hot air to about 200 or 

 210. It is found that 10,000 or 12,000 articles of 

 washed clothing can now be dried with i worth 

 of fuel. The ironing is done in a large ironing- 

 room, well provided with irons, ironing-blankets 

 and boards, and heating arrangements. The 

 charge is from id. to 2^d. per hour, according to 

 the class and the accommodation. 



It has been found, by actual results at one of 

 the establishments, that 37,000 garments an 

 aggregate of all the usual kinds belonging to 

 1370 washers, were washed, dried, and ironed in 

 3000 hours ; that is, each woman, on an average, 

 working about two and a quarter hours, began 

 and finished the washing and ironing of her 

 family stock of twenty-seven articles. When the 

 model establishment was first founded, the fuel 

 for heating loco warm baths cost ^3, 155. ; but 

 by successive improvements, this cost was reduced 

 to i, 45. There are, it is found, in the metro- 

 polis about three times as many bathers as 

 washers ; both classes together, they pay about 

 4d. each on an average ; and nearly the same 

 average has been observed in the provinces. Ir 

 Scotland and Ireland, the public baths are gradu- 

 ally increasing in number ; but the wash-houses 

 have not been much encouraged. 



