THE RURAL EXODUS 69 



The cottage question in general, and the 

 tied-cottage grievance in particular, are 

 powerful factors in driving townwards the 

 population of our villages. 



The basic facts of the housing problems are 

 these. A large proportion of our rural cottages 

 are, in the words of a Royal Commission's 

 Report, " vile and deplorable dwellings," 

 built without any adequate regard for sani- 

 tation or the air supply necessary for healthy 

 sleep. It is impossible here to deal with the 

 cumulative and irresistible evidence which 

 proves the case ; it must suffice to quote 

 some facts which are typical of the housing 

 conditions of very many English villages. 



A recent enquiry at Potterne, in Wiltshire, 

 revealed some shocking facts of overcrowding. 

 In some two-bedroomed cottages slept six 

 and seven adults, and nine to ten persons in 

 all ; in one case the two rooms were occupied 

 by two families and a young man lodger. 

 There were in this village twenty-nine one- 

 bedroomed cottages, in several of which five 

 or six persons were sleeping. The medical 

 officer of health reports that he was obliged 

 to accept 200 cubic feet per head of sleeping 

 accommodation as his standard, i.e., two- 

 thirds of the minimum space compulsory in 

 the case of common lodging-houses. 



