Court Housing model

Densely packed court housing in a state of severe dilapidation in the St. Anne Street area is clearly shown in this model. The 124 three-storey houses had been built prior to 1828. The majority were of the worst type of insanitary house, placed back-to-back without through ventilation and yard space, the closet accommodation unsuitable and inadequate, and the water supply obtained from a standpipe in the court. 563 people lived here and the General Death Rate was three times higher than the rest of the city. The area was cleared, the streets widened, and 72 new tenements built using the power of the Housing Acts, 1907. Court housing like this provided cheap accommodation for the huge numbers of people who moved to the city in the 19th century. The model, originally part of the collections of the School of Hygiene (established 1898), was used as a teaching aid for students studying public health.