CORRESPONDENCE.

THE CHEAP COTTAGE PROBTAINf.

[To THE ED17011 07 TEE " SPECTATOR:1

8114—The cheap cottage problem is of national importance. All over the country old and dilapidated cottages are being

pulled down and a corresponding number of new cottages are not being built to take their place ; one result of which is that because of the lack of cottage accommodation, when our young people wish to marry, even if they desire to work in the country, they are compelled to seek work in the towns. The cottage problem is purely an economic one. If the people could afford to pay 5 per cent. on the outlaysnecessary to build these cottages—that is, Si per cent. interest on capital,

per cent. towards repairs, painting, and renewals—many landlords would erect more cottages on their estates.

I have on my estate twenty-four brick, tile, and slate cottages ; each cottage has a fair-sized garden, pigsty, and tap-water laid on, and the rent paid is about £510s. per annum. They pay their own taxes, about 14e. per annum, and for tap-. water a Water-rate of 5s. per annum. Out of this £5 10s. per annum I have to keep the cottages painted and in repair, and on a change of tenancy have in most cases to paint, whitewash, and paper from top to bottom, so practically,these cottages pay no interest to the estate account on the original outlay. I therefore call these cottages charity cottages, and I do not think that I should be doing my duty to this estate if I erected. any more cottages on such an unsound economic basis.

I am anxious to build a pair of new cottages on this estate, and I have given the design of these cottages a great deal of thought. I find that what is especially required by the cottage people is as follows. First, a warm cottage; second, a cottage where the inmates can sit downstairs, or lie in bed upstairs, without being exposed to cross-draughts from windows, doors, and fireplace ; third, windows placed as high in the wall as possible, so that a strong light may be thrown over the room. If the windows are broad rather than long, and fixed as high in the wall as they can be fixed, it will allow some three or four feet between the bottom of the window and the floor, a principle which, while admitting a good light, will tend to lessen the draughts, and keep the room at a more even temperature. Another point : as the scullery is the room where all the rough work of the house is done, it is important that this should be well lighted and of fair size, nearly as large as the kitchen-sitting-room itself. The boiler should on no account be fixed in the scullery, but in a small lean-to just outside the scullery door.

I have come to the conclusion that the warmest aspect is for the front of the cottage to face West, and the back to face East. This position, I think, is preferable to the front facing South and the back facing North, for these reasons. If the cottage faces East and West, the back premises where the work is done in the morning get some sun, and the front where the inmates sit during the afternoon gets the after- noon sun. In order to spare wall space, minimise draughts, and save expense, we have, as will be seen by the plan adopted, rather a novel way of entering into the cottage. This entrance is effected from a porch at the back, and from this porch one door leads into the scullery, one door leads into the larder, and the other door leads into the living. room.

A parlour in a cottage is a useless room. I have mostly found them filled with cheap and ugly ornaments, sometimes used as a store for apples, potatoes, &c., and never used except perhaps for a few hours on Sunday, when a fire may be lighted, the result being that the room has a musty smell, and the walls are invariably damp. Moreover, by my plan of an open staircase leading out of the living-room, it will allow the warmth from the living-room to ascend to the bed- rooms, and this will tend to keep the upstairs dry and slightly warmed. There is a well-lighted landing, from which landing each of the three bedrooms can be entered separately. To enter one bedroom from another is a most objectionable principle. The wall space of the three bedrooms is so arranged that the beds will obtain good light and be well out of cross- draughts, an important consideration for comfortable sleeping and in cases of sickness.

To each cottage there is attached a quarter of an acre of garden and a good pigsty. I have kept carefully the accounts of profits that can be made by pigs in the ordinary cottage pigsty. In charging myself with the original price of the pigs—namely, 30e. each pig—and with the meal, straw, potatoes, and wash, I found that on the last pigs I made a profit of 35s. each pig ; the pigs I kept previously, 35s. profit each; and the pigs I kept previous to them, 27s. profit each. By fattening four pigs in the year, the cottager should be able to make a profit of £6 on the pigsty itself. -That is, he can make half his rent, and if the quarter of the acre of garden is managed skilfully, and all the manure that is made by the pigs, slops, waste products, and odds and ends made the best use of and supplemented with an occasional dressing of slag or lime, the garden should be able to supply all the fruit and vegetables required for the family, and, if cultivated and manured with knowledge, I think, all the potatoes.

Builders' estimates for these cottages, including pigsties and outside e.c.'s, are £420, with architect's fees, fencing out quarter of an acre of land on which are the house and garden, and all the number of odds and ends which cannot be included in any builder's estimates. The two cottages would, in my opinion, cost little less than £500 the pair. Five per cent. on this sum would mean £12 10s. per annum, or, say,' 4s. 6d. per week. Taxes, &c., extra. A good hard brick with

us costs 30s. per thousand, best blue Staffordshire tiles 50s. per thousand, haulage to site 10s. per thousand. The cost of labour is about the average of the country.

In estimating for cottages I think it is a wrong principle to omit any item of cost. It is not fair to the landlords, and certainly misleading to the conntryfolk, and gives a weapon for the political agitator. Taking the estimate given by "S.," in all £300, for the pair of cottages the design of which appeared in the issue of the Spectator for May 14th, 1910, I note that there is nothing charged for drainage, or water- supply, or architect's fees, or builder's profits (7 to 10 per cent.), or fencing, or rent of land for garden, and as far as I can see there is nothing charged for that greatest of essentials, if manure is to be obtained for the garden and the odds and ends made the most profitable use of, and a little extra profit obtained towards the paying of the rent,—namely, the pigsty. These items would come to at least £100 extra ; that would bring the cost of "S.'s " pair of cottages up to £400, and if I might be allowed to say so, I think they are dear cottages at any money. The plan, shape, arrangement of the rooms, I entirely disagree with. I am afraid that after the inmates have had some experience of these cottages " S." will have to listen (that is, if he cares to listen) to many complaints.

It is said : Better have cheap, uncomfortable, badly designed cottages than no cottages at all. Here I must entirely dis- agree. To my thinking, it is better for the people to pay more rent, and have roomy, convenient, well-ventilated, and dry cottages, and by means of a good pigsty and a large garden to be able to pay an extra rent, rather than to live in a cottage giving perpetual dissatisfaction, because of cold, draught, damp walls, and the absence of all common-sense convenience. The better cottage is, in my opinion, more conducive to the goodwill, the moral life of the village, and certainly more conducive to the peace of mind of the landlord.

—I am, Sir, &c., H. B. M. BUCHANAN. Hales, near Market Drayton.

We have asked " S." to answer Mr. Buchanan's letter, and he writes as follows

"Nothing was charged for drainage because there are no drains. There is an e.c., and outside the scullery wall stands a bucket into which the scullery sink drains. When the bucket is full it is emptied on the garden. The house slops are similarly spread on the garden. The result is eminently hygienic. The water-supply was charged for in the labour, &c. The only outlay was for con- necting with a company's main which runs quite close to the site. Architect's fees were not charged for, as I, with the aid of the contractor, settled the plans myself. I see no reason why landlords should spend money on architects' fees. Every agent's office should be capable of producing cottage plans. I stated originally that the sum allowed for builder's profit—about £5—was inade- quate, but many landlords build for themselves, and in such cases no profit is required. Their object is to build cheap cottages, not to make a few pounds as builder's profits. Fencing was not charged for, as it is not a building item. The site is unsuitable for pigsties, and I did not say that a cottage and pigsties could be built for £150. The windows are large, the rooms light and airy. The inhabitants do not complain, though I have no doubt they objurgate the weather like the rest of us. As for draughts, argument is impossible. Those who like stuffy rooms will never like rooms in which there is a free circulation of air. I do not think badly designed cottages are better than no cottages ; but I do think a thoroughly healthy, dry, airy, habitable cottage at £150 is better than a cottage which costs £250, and thus costa £5 a year more in rent. A dear cottage is necessarily a badly designed cottage."

—En. Spectator.]