Series 5 > Government and social conditions in Scotland, 1845-1919

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GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 1845-1919
The old-fashioned and abominable box-bed of the burghs and the
agricultural districts is very rarely met with. All the family sleep
in the kitchen, the mother explaining, in countless cases, that
though there is a bed in the ‘room’ the children will not sleep in it
since the kitchen is warmer. The ‘room’, smaller in area, is almost
invariably wood-floored. As a rule it contains a bed, but, unless
lodgers are kept or the eldest members of the family have reached
adolescence, it is not habitually used. The ‘room’ is generally
found to contain one or two bicycles, the perambulator, a trunk
or two, or the like. It is not made use of as part of the habitual
living accommodation of the house. The ceilings are fairly high,
eight and a half feet to nine feet being an average height. The
floors are generally at a height of one or two steps above the level
of the street or adjacent ground. This diminishes the tendency to
dampness, and also proves convenient by preventing the casual
passer-by from seeing what is happening within, maintaining the
privacy of the home. The opposite condition, however, when the
floor is from three to six inches below the level of the street or
road, is to be seen in quite a number of ‘rows’. It is difficult to
conceive the motive which led the original builders of these
houses to perpetuate this condition. In wet weather, especially,
the inconvenience resulting is sometimes very great.
Accessories of the Miner’s Dwellings
When making casual visits to the mining communities, the
most obvious feature threatening the comfort of the people is the
existence of the ubiquitous ashpit or privy-midden. So long as
there is not a very plentiful water-supply and an efficient drainage
system (which implies a proper means of sewage disposal), the
ashbin cannot be substituted for the ashpit, though the former is
enormously to be preferred to the latter, especially in densely
populated centres, mining or otherwise. The ashpit, regarded as
an existing though a regrettable condition, is to be considered
from the point of view of position, construction, and condition. If
all the ashpits were properly covered - that is roofed over -
properly drained, properly used and frequently emptied, they
might permissibly be erected within 20 or 25 feet of dwelling