Upton Ward in 1907

 

This is the third in our three-part series looking at the Forest Gate area just over a century ago, through the eyes of social researchers, Howard and Wilson, who set out to describe conditions in an outer London area, in their highly-acclaimed  West Ham - a study in industrial problems.  The book looks at the whole of the borough and painted pen portraits of each of the local authority's electoral wards, in 1907.

Below is their description of Upton Ward (see map for the extent of the boundaries). Details of their portraits of Forest Gate and Park wards can be found here and here.


Upton ward in 1907

In 1901, Upton Ward had a population of 19,000 - the time of the census just before the authors conducted their survey.

Howarth and Wilson describe the ward, thus:

The two main roads in the Upton Ward are the Romford Road, running from west to east and Upton Lane, from north to south. In the Romford Road are large houses with gardens, many of them old, similar to those mentioned in the Broadway and Park Wards. Many old houses with gardens, fields, and orchards, were formerly to be found in Upton Lane, and one or two still remain, though much of the land round them has been used for building.

Their place has been taken by houses let at £25 to £50 a year. The southern part of this road faces West Ham Park, and in the northern end are good class shops similar to those in Woodgrange Road, which lies to the north of the ward across the Romford Road.

Most of the roads are broad and straight, and in addition to the part of West Ham Park, which lies within the ward there is a football ground at the Spotted Dog Inn, and a large open space round a convent in St George's Road.

 

Clapton FC, whose ground is the oldest in London,
at the Old Spotted Dog pub, on Upton Lane,
in the Upton Ward at the time of the survey
. This Clapton team won the amateur cup in 1909 and
boasted war hero. Walter Tull, second from right,
front row, as an inspirational member

Practically the whole population of the ward belongs to the middle-class, and a large proportion has some unearned income. The few artisans and labourers are for the most part in constant work, and live chiefly in four-, five- or six-roomed houses, the rents of which range from 7s 6d to 10s 6d a week. Such houses are to be found in various parts, and chiefly in Neville, Upton Park, Belton, Stukeley and Wellesley Roads, which however, contain some businessmen and a considerable proportion of clerks.

Claremont Road, 1913, in Upton ward in 1907,
but surprisingly, along with the rest of the
Woodgrange estate, not mentioned
in Howarth and Wilson's book

Chestnut Road contains self-contained flats with separate doors, two rooms, kitchen, and wash-house; these are let at 7s. The houses at Sylvan Road, one of the oldest in the ward, are rented at 8s and 8s 6d, and contain four rooms and a wash-house; while at the roads to the north-east of the ward the accommodation is five rooms and a wash-house, and the rents vary according to the designs of the fronts. Where there are no bay windows the rent is 9s; other rents are 9s 6d and 10s; and six rooms with a wash-house can be had for 10s 6d and 11s.

In one of these roads houses of a good class have been put up, where five rooms, a bath, and a portable copper in a small wash-house are to be had for 11s 6d. These let well and are occupied by foremen and men in business in the City. Ferndale, Oakdale and Elmhurst Roads, and St George's Square contain six roomed houses at 10s or 11s a week, with concrete fronts. The tenants are mostly artisans or shop assistants, a few only go to business in the City.

The same is true of Beauchamp Road, where half the houses are let at 6s 6d; the rent for the whole house being 12s or 12s 6d. Even in Khedive Road some houses produce 6s 6d per half-house, while others let at £30 a year, but in general the tenants are well-to-do people.

Between this road and Upton Lane is an estate of a superior character, comprising Lancaster, Kingsley, and neighbouring roads, in which eight-roomed houses are let at 13s a week; and a similar neighbourhood, lying north of this, where seven rooms and offices are rented for 14s a week of 33 a calendar month. These houses are seldom unoccupied if they are in good repair. An old estate with larger gardens comprises Palmerstone, Westbury and Victoria Roads.

Undated photograph of Upton Lane

Westbury Road was formed before 1860, but the first houses were built in 1861-62. The remainder of the state was developed in 1865. Here the rents vary between 11a a week to £30 per year, and the tenants are well-off middle class people. In Glenparke Road, which is close by, rents vary from 11s to 14s a week.

As we stated in our previous articles in this series (see here for Forest Gate and Park wards), the above description focuses mainly on male occupations, elsewhere in their book, however, Howarth and Wilson consider female employment, which would appear to have predominantly in the clothing industry.

 

They have a few observations that relate to the area,, for example:

Many women work to meet some definite part of the family expenditure, such as children's clothes or boots and a considerable number of girls in Forest Gate and Upton Park make underclothing in order to pay for their dress.

Looking as specific aspects of the rag trade, they have the following to report:

About 75 per cent of the workers employed in blouse-making live in the better parts of Plaistow, West Ham and Stratford, and in certain streets in Forest Gate and Upton Park where the rent is often 12s to 14s a week. It is noticeable that those who live in Forest Gate and Upton Park, a considerable number live with their parents, while others have several brothers or sisters living with them, who are occupied in various ways, often as clerks.

Pre World War 1 photograph of Upton Park Road

 And finally on costume making, about half those employed in the trade were single women:

The majority were found in the better class streets in Stratford, Forest Gate and Upton. One or two rented their houses by the month; but on the other hand, one woman was living in a single room. The work is mostly of a good class, and is only entrusted to the superior type of home worker. All the workers in this group appeared to own their own machines. In some cases materials and models are sent by West End firms and the work is largely done by hand. The costumiers sometimes do private work, and are practically private dressmakers, who eke out their means by taking private work from shops.

Tony Banks, in his own words: a recollection of Forest Gate's much missed local wit, sage and MP

There are few British politicians, living or dead, who could be relied on to light up a room with their utterances. In an era when blandness is the hallmark of Westminster MPs, Tony stood apart from the greyness, and was one of that rare breed.

He was the local MP, for Newham North West (later renamed West Ham) from 1983 - 2005, and lived, for most of that time, in Sprowston Road, pretty much opposite Romford Road's former Live and Let Live pub. He retired as MP when his old constituency was abolished and became Baron Banks, of Stratford. He died of a massive heart attack just a few months later, while visiting friends for a Christmas break, in January 2006.

As we approach the 9th anniversary of his death, it seems an appropriate time to recall some of his wit and barbed comments - and so, perhaps, add to the jollity of the festive season.

Potted biog

First, a quick potted biography.

Tony was born in April 1942, the son of a diplomat (whose language he never quite learned to master). He went to school in Brixton and university in York and the LSE.

He joined the Labour Party in 1964 and was elected to the Greater London Council in 1970 - on which he sat until 1977, then from 1981 until its abolition in 1986. He was a member of  Lambeth Council from 1971-4.

Banksy - as he was known -  was Assistant General Secretary of the Association of Broadcasting Staff (AGS, ABS) from 1973-83. In June 1983 he was elected MP for Newham North-West, with a majority of almost 7,000. He was chair of the GLC in its last year of existence, after which he was elected chair of the group of London Labour MPs. He held a number of shadow portfolios until Labour formed the government in 1997.

Tony quickly became known for his forthright language and acidic utterances; and it was a considerable surprise (not least unto himself and the party's prince of darkness, Peter Mandelson) when Tony Blair appointed him as Minister of Sport in May 1997. He was in heaven.


Tony, swearing his oath of allegiance
to the Queen, with his fingers crossed - one of
many gestures that got him in trouble

But his sharp tongue and unwillingness to toe the line lead to the inevitable: removal from office two and a half years later, after one gaffe too many, to occupy the non-job of "Prime Minister's envoy"  to win the 2016 World Cup bid. The bid, of course, failed, as did his attempt to become the Labour candidate for the London mayoralty in 2004.

He left the Commons a year later and was dead within another twelve months.

His last few years must have seemed like failure to the outside world, but he was characteristically philosophic about it - as will be seen, below.

He had trenchant and colourful views on many of his contemporary politicians, as the following illustrate.

On Margaret Thatcher

 She is happier getting in and out of tanks than in and out of museums or theatre seats. She seems to derive more pleasure from admiring missiles than great works of art. What else can we expect from an ex-spam-hoarder from Grantham, presiding over the social and economic decline of the country.

She is as about as environmentally friendly as the bubonic plague. I would be happy to see Margaret Thatcher stuffed, mounted, put in a glass case and left in a museum. She believes that anybody who opposes her - whether the Opposition or one of her friends - must, by definition, be wrong. She is a natural autocrat surrounded by a bunch of sycophants, many of whom have betrayed everything in which they once claimed to believe. She is far more influenced by Attila The Hun than Saint Francis of Assisi. She is a petty minded xenophobe who struts around the world interfering and lecturing in an arrogant and high-handed manner. 

But Banksy was considerably less ambiguous in his views

She is a half-mad old bag lady. The Finchley whinger. She said the Poll Tax was the government's flagship. Unfortunately for the Conservative Party she keeps bobbing up again. Her head keeps appearing above the waves.

On the Poll Tax:

It was a tax which was drawn up by some half-wit in the Department of the Environment. A tax which was unfair, unloved, unclear - a good description of Margaret Thatcher's government.

On John Major

I have always found it a personal advantage to loathe my political opponents. It is not usually difficult, but the Prime Minister is certainly not one of those. How could I? We both grew up in Brixton. We both like beans on toast. Where on this conjoined road of shared experiences did the Prime Minister go so badly wrong and become a Tory? I think it was when he got turned down for the job of bus conductor. He had his heart set on punching tickets and helping little old ladies on and off the bus, but he was spurned. At that point he vowed hideous revenge on us all, but to be able to get it, first he had to punch the little old lady from Finchley off the bus. Having achieved that he has now turned his attention to the rest of us. Our fate is to be even more horrible than to be frog marched out of Downing Street. We are to be buried under charters. (19 Nov 1991)

He was a fairly competent chairman of Housing (on Lambeth Council). Every time he gets up now I keep thinking "What on earth is Councillor Major doing?" I can't believe he's here and sometimes I think he can't either. (24 Apr 1994)

Throughout the year, he stood like the little boy on the burning deck of the Titanic, with his finger in the dyke, an apple on his head and his foot in his mouth" , awarding John Major, 'Survivor of the Year. (27 Dec 1996.)

John Major, like Tony, was an-ex Brixton
boy, former Lambeth councillor and
Chelsea FC and Surrey CC fan

On other, contemporaries

Kenneth Clarke:

In his usual arrogant and high-handed fashion, he dons his Thatcherite jackboots and stamps all over local opinion.  He's like Hitler with a beer belly.  He is a pot-bellied old soak. (21 Jun 1994)

Michael Portillo:

At one point Portillo was polishing his jackboots and planning the next advance. The next thing is he shows up as a TV presenter. It is rather like Pol Pot joining the Teletubbies. (Oct 1997)

Taking as good as he gave

The Banksy abuse was not a one way street. Every sharp pen in Fleet Street and beyond rose to the challenge of trying to emulate his invective, as the following indicates:

The Times :

Banks' lip, his street cred suits and streetwise insults bring the flavour of Newham to the corridors of Westminster

Overand and Sea - West Ham fanzine:

The Newham Nutcase , (Oct 1997)

Evening Standard :

The names Peter Stringfellow and Tony Banks rarely appear in the same sentence. After all, one's a sharp-dressed, silken-tongued smoothie and the other owns a nightclub (21 May 1996)

Daily Telegraph:

Everyone knows that Banks was going to be the cabaret turn in Blair's government; first there was the record of his parliamentary brawling, then there was the way in which he was blissfully unprepared for ministerdom - he hit the ground stumbling. On his first day, he bounded in half an hour late in jeans, having had to find out where the ministry was, and proceeded to lead the press upstairs to inspect his pokey office. To fantasy footballers everywhere, it was brilliant - as if the fans were bawling national anthem's in the directors' box. To the civil servants used to stiff-collared subtlety, it was disconcerting. (18 Aug 1997)

Matthew Parris:

A total ape, baboon, buffoon,. clown, harlequin, jackass, jester, joker, monkey, pantaloon, pickle-herring, scallywag, tomfool, half-wit, barmpot, headbanger, eejit numpty.   (The Times)

Chelsea  fan

Tony was a huge - and unswerving -Chelsea fan, from the days when it was an unfashionable club. On being appointed Minister of Sport, he said he would give the job up if he was required to be impartial, and on the occasion when Chelsea were at Wembley, during his period in office he sat with the fans, rather than in the royal box.

On being selected to stand for Parliament in Newham, Tony was asked by the Newham Recorder if he was going to switch his political allegiances from Chelsea to West Ham, to which he replied. "In life, you can change your religion, wife and even politics - but never your football team." He lived that sentence, almost to the letter!

And the club were never far from his thoughts, so in Parliament:

When I first heard about this new drug Viagra, I thought it was a new player Chelsea had just signed. (30 May 1998)

He even portrayed his role in government, in self-effacing Chelsea terms:

My role is to serve as the long-stop, for those who are cricketers, or as a sweeper for those who are interested in football. I see myself as perhaps the Ruud Gullit of the government team, although the Honourable Members will probably notice, I am considerably shorter, I am not black and I do not have dreadlocks. (27 Jun 1997)

To his amusement, he shared his support with John Major - who he was always pleased to say sat at the opposite end of Stamford Bridge to him, and the completely loathsome David Mellor, whom, quite inexplicably, he quite liked .

The slimeball Mellor was, of course, caught up in a sleazy affair with an  "actress" Antonia De Sancha, which resulted in claims that he  had sex with her, wearing a Chelsea kit - memorably recreated by the ever-helpful Sun (see photo). On seeing this, Banksy quipped, of his mate:

I couldn't possibly emulate the feats of one D Mellor. Since the great days of Jimmy Greaves, it's the only time anyone's managed to score four times in night in a Chelsea shirt. The question we are all asking is, of course, did they change ends at half time? (Aug 1997)

David Mellor, the ugly face of politics,
Chelsea support and taxi passengers

Newham

He was characteristically blunt, when discussing his views on his constituents:

To Private Eye, - describing the children in his constituency, he said that they were: "More likely to be out nicking TVs than watching them." (Feb 1990)

I seem to represent some of the dirtiest constituencies in the country, and what's more I say so in the local papers. That was the gist of my New Year's message to the good folks of Newham - that they were a pretty filthy bunch who should clean up their act. (1994)

I have a personal concern about blight; the (Channel) tunnel goes immediately underneath my house. I am quite happy about that, but is there any compensation in this for me? My property, along with many others, has been blighted; its value has gone down. People do not want to buy a house over a tunnel (Nov 1995)

Although the tunnel will go immediately under my house in Forest Gate, I cannot wait to sit in my front room and hear the rumble of the trains on their way to Stratford. (29 Feb 1996)

For the benefit of those Hon Members who think that I live in a concrete jungle I should point out that many cattle once wandered on Wanstead Flats, which is in my constituency, and it was a delight to see them. I have not seen them around recently, but I suppose they have gone the way of all flesh (13 Nov 1996)

In his own words:

I am a vegetarian. However, I am nobody's turnip. I came to vegetarianism fairly late in my somewhat dissolute life; it has been a journey of discovery ... I am however, no food fascist. If people wish to eat meat and run the risk of dying a horrible, lingering hormone-induced death after sprouting extra breasts and large amounts of hair, it is, of course, entirely up to them. (8 Mar 1995)

'm personally going to be pushing very hard for synchronised nose-picking. I think it has a great future, judging by the number of MPs who indulge in it. (1 Feb 1998)

On cash for questions:

Since I was elected, I have tabled 6,919questions. If I had received £1,000 for each of these, I'd have netted a cool £7million, which would have meant that I could have faxed this speech from Mustique. (13 Jul 1994)

Tony was just like Ruud Gullit
- except he was shorter, not black
and didn't have dreadlocks

On sex:

I certainly didn't manage it until I was quite a bit older than most people. It really annoys me, even now, when I realise that so many of my most creative years were wasted in an unnecessary and unwanted celibacy.

To fellow Newham MP, Nigel Spearing, in the Commons, on a debate on drugs

If my Hon Friend wants a spliff, I will no doubt be able to supply him with one, but it will not be one that I have rolled myself. (9 Jun 1995)

I was totally and utterly gobsmacked when I got The Call (to be Minister of Sport). I mean that. I'm not just saying it. It was a complete and utter surprise. Because I had no reason whatsoever to expect a call. Perhaps, some might argue, no justification.  So, when I got the call I thought it was a spoof. Then, when I heard the very efficient voice on the switchboard at Number 10 Downing Street, I thought: 'Oh, no, I'm going to get told off."' Perhaps the lavatories were blocked or something. Could I possibly come round with me plunger. And then it turned out it was Himself, saying 'I'd like you to be the new Sports Minister ... I actually said 'Fuck me!' Then I said 'I don't quite know what to say', except then, of course, I managed to say 'Yes'. There wasn't much of a pause. Nanoseconds. I went for it. (19 Sept 1997).

He was equally blunt on the role of local MP, when discussing his retirement , with the BBC's then political editor, Robin Oakley:

To be honest I found it intellectually numbing, and tedious in the extreme. I most certainly won't miss the constituency work. I've got to tell you that honestly. It's 22 years of the same cases, but just the faces and the people changing. It might sound a little disparaging to say this about people's lives and their problems and we did deal with them ... but I got no satisfaction from this at all. I really didn't. And all you were was a sort of high-powered social worker and perhaps not even a good one at that.

Last words

My epitaph will be: 'He Was a Complete Tosser'

Footnote

Thanks for much of the material to West Ham fan, Tory, broadcaster and publisher, Iain Dale, the source of many of the quotes, above, from his jolly little stocking filler, published in 1998 The Wit and Wisdom of Tony Banks - a Tribute to a Parliamentary Character. There's much more of a similar nature in there, so if the above has tickled a rib or two - get the whole cage in motion by purchasing, or otherwise acquiring, the volume!

Happy Christmas - one and all!

St Antony's tops Forest Gate junior school 2014 league table

Ofsted has recently published its national junior/primary school league tables. Wearing our ever-parochial hat, we thought we'd publish a Forest Gate extract from them. The Ofsted results cover seven E7 junior schools and they show the performance of 11 year-olds who took the National Curriculum tests this year.

St Antony's - top of local mini-league

They are good.

Column 1 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in reading.

Column 2 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in writing.

Column 3 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in maths.

Column 4 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in all three subjects.

Column 5 shows the "Value Added" by the school to the relevant cohort of pupils. 


Elmhurst - second in local league table

A score of 100 indicates that the school obtained the results it would have been expected to, given the previous attainments levels of relevant students. A score lower than 100 suggests that the students fared less well than would have been expected; and a score in excess of 100 suggests the school added more "value" than could have been anticipated from the relevant students.

The schools are listed in order of "Value Added", as this would seem to measure the effectiveness of the school rather than its pupils.

To put local results into context: nationally, 79% pupils reached Level 4 in all three assessed subjects (all local schools bettered this, locally). 82% of London pupils reached Level 4 in all assessed subjects (all bar William Davies bettered this, locally).

Sandringham - bang on average, locally,
with slightly better than expected performance

Schools are regarded as "failing" if fewer than 65% pupils hit the Level 4 in all three subjects level. Last year that "failure borderline" was 60%; next year it will be 85%. No local schools come anywhere near even the higher target figure, set for next year.

In summary: St Antony's not only provided the "best" results, but added the most "Value". Only St James', locally did not add more "Value" than could have been expected - and only by a fraction of a percentage. There was little to choose between Forest Gate's other five junior schools, in terms of "Value Added".

St Antony's read: 100, write: 93, maths: 100, all: 93, value added: 103.0

Elmhurst
read: 94, write: 94, maths: 98, all: 92, value added: 101.8

William Davies
read: 87, write: 97, maths: 83, all: 80, value added: 100.5

Sandringham
read: 88, write: 91, maths: 92, all: 82, value added: 100.4

Earlham Grove
read: 93, write: 95, maths: 88, all: 85, value added: 101.1

Godwin
read: 91, write: 86, maths: 94, all: 83, value added: 101.0

St James'
read: 90, write: 90, maths: 88, all: 83, value added: 99.6



St James' - bottom of local mini league,
with results slightly below expectation

Park Ward in 1907



This is the second in our three-part series looking at the Forest Gate area just over a century ago, through the eyes of social researchers, Howard and Wilson, who set out to describe conditions in an outer London area, in their highly-acclaimed  West Ham - a study in industrial problems. 

The book looks at the whole of the borough and painted pen portraits of each of the local authority's electoral wards, in 1907.

Below is their description of Park Ward (see map for the extent of the boundaries). Details of their portrait of Forest Gate ward can be found here.
 

Park Ward, 1907

In 1901, Park Ward had a population of 17,000 - the time of the census just before the authors conducted their survey. Howarth and Wilson described the ward, thus:

The southern part of the ward is occupied by West Ham Park, a space of 73 acres, which belongs to the Corporation of London.

In the Romford Road, which runs east to west through the ward, are large houses in which doctors, clergy, and prosperous business people live. Many of these houses are of the type built at the beginning of the last (19th) century, and till twenty years ago had long gardens with orchards. Gardens of the size of a tennis court remain.

The sites vary from 150 feet upward to 300 feet in depth, and there are back entrances in many cases. Such houses were numerous in Stratford twenty-five years ago, but most of them have disappeared to make way for smaller property.

To the north of Romford Road, near the Forest Gate station are five roads, which until ten years ago were the best part of the borough, and were inhabited by middle-class people, such as lived on the Woodgrange Estate in the Upton ward until a few years ago, when a great many people of this class moved to Ilford or father east. Westwards, towards Stratford, the houses are rather smaller, and the tenants are artisans and small tradespeople.  

Earlham Grove, 1911, one of the five roads
Howarth and Wilson descibe as formerly having been
"the best part of the borough", but now
suffering from an exodus to Ilford

This part of the ward contains the Central Free Library, which is a large building and the Technical Institute. The houses between Maryland Point Station and the Technical Institute are let at rents varying between 12s to 14s a week, and are inhabited by clerks, foreman shop assistants, and people of small means. In The Green are some old houses like those in the Romford Road, with rents ranging from £60 to £80 per year.

In the roads just to the east of this part, the rents run from £30 to £50, and the tenants are clerks, salesmen and managers of works, and retired businessmen; while towards Forest Gate some of the houses are more expensive, varying from £30 to £70 or £80.

The streets between the Park and Romford Road vary in character. Vicarage Lane, which forms part of the west boundary, contains several shops at the northern end, and at the southern houses let at 8s 6d to 11s per week.

The roads between it and the Park contain houses at about 12s per week for six rooms and a wash house, the majority being let by the agent in halves at 6s or 6s 6d. They have been divided within the last eight years, and are inhabited mainly by artisans and small tradespeople, with a certain number of clerks.

 

One of the large houses ( no 244) on Romford
Road, to which the authors draw attention

A group of three streets in the north-west of this contains houses rented at 9s for four rooms and a wash-house. They are inhabited by mechanics, regular labourers, dealers and others, who often take in a lodger, because they prefer a respectable neighbourhood, notwithstanding a rent which is high in proportion to their means.

Houses in the Matthews Park estate, which includes the houses to the north of the Park, are let at 14s a week, and have six rooms, a wash-house, and in many cases a bathroom. The roads between this estate and the eastern boundary of the ward contain houses of the same type let at 13s a week, and in most cases adapted for two families by the addition of a kitchener and water upstairs.

Two streets on the eastern boundary are occupied by business and professional men, and are of a better class. The houses are mostly let by the year and rents vary from £26 to £40. In the road which faces the north side of the Park, the houses are let by the year at rents varying from £30 to £36, exclusive of rates and taxes. Two of these, near the Upton Lane, are rented at £60. They are occupied by professional and business people, and contain seven rooms, a bathroom and a wash-house. A few have seven, eight, or nine rooms."

As we stated in our previous article in this series (see here for Forest Gate ward), the above description focuses mainly on male occupations, elsewhere in their book, however, Howarth and Wilson consider female employment, which would appear to have predominantly in the clothing industry.

Water fountain at West Ham Park -
controlled by the Corporation of London -
accounting for 73 acres of the ward, Photo c 1900 -
the time of the survey

They have a few observations that relate to the area,, for example:

Many women work to meet some definite part of the family expenditure, such as children's clothes or boots and a considerable number of girls in Forest Gate and Upton Park make underclothing in order to pay for their dress.

Looking as specific aspects of the rag trade, they have the following to report:

About 75 per cent of the workers employed in blouse-making live in the better parts of Plaistow, West Ham and Stratford, and in certain streets in Forest Gate and Upton Park where the rent is often 12s to 14s a week. It is noticeable that those who live in Forest Gate and Upton Park, a considerable number live with their parents, while others have several brothers or sisters living with them, who are occupied in various ways, often as clerks.

And finally on costume making, about half those employed in the trade were single women:

The majority were found in the better class streets in Stratford, Forest Gate and Upton. One or two rented their houses by the month; but on the other hand, one woman was living in a single room. The work is mostly of a good class, and is only entrusted to the superior type of home worker. All the workers in this group appeared to own their own machines. In some cases materials and models are sent by West End firms and the work is largely done by hand. The costumiers sometimes do private work, and are practically private dressmakers, who eke out their means by taking private work from shops.