16 C O N T E X T 1 7 2 : J U N E 2 0 2 2 Libertyes shall bee carryed and conveyed into the Channells by Pipes and Partie pipes (as the case shall require) to be brought downe on the Sides or Fronts of the said Houses.’ Foundations had to be inspected by a surveyor. The 1770s The system of 1666 persisted with varying degrees of observance and enforcement until the London Building Acts of 1772 and, most significantly, 1774: ‘An act or for the further and better regulation of buildings and party- walls and for the more effectually preventing mischief by fire within the cities of London and Westminster (etc)…’.This act replaced the ‘four sorts of buildings’ detailed in the 1666 act with seven classes or rates of buildings, with requirements prescribed for each class. For example, the definition of a first-rate building included dwelling houses which exceeded 900 sq ft on the ground floor, but the class also included other buildings such as churches, chapels and meeting houses, and buildings for the distilling of liquor, or the making of soap or turpentine, which exceeded three clear storeys above the ground or 31 ft. Walls, roofs and external decorations were to be of non-combustible materials, and window-frames and doorframes were to be set in reveals, and recessed by at least four inches from the front of the building. The act set requirements for the thickness of walls and party walls and their foundations which were related to the rate of the building. Party walls were required to be carried at least 18 inches above the roof. There are many sections in the act covering party walls, their removal and their replacement, with the aim of compartmentalising fire and preventing its spread. There was a statutory role for surveyors in inspecting new buildings, and an oath for them to swear. In the 19th century this system was criticised for promoting uniformity or monotony, although anyone who takes to the trouble to read the act itself will realise that it does nothing of the sort. The 19th century By the 1840s the threat of fire had been eclipsed by epidemic disease.The average life expectancy of children born into labouring class families in industrial towns was below 20 years. The causes were thought to be overcrowding, damp and bad air, and the remedies were thought to be light, drainage and ventilation. Numerous reports were published and campaigns organised, but action was painfully slow. The provisions of the Town Improvement ClausesAct 1847 applied to England and Ireland. They included: Commissioners to appoint a surveyor and an inspector of nuisances. Notice of buildings and rebuildings to be given to the commissioners. A map of the district to be created. Powers created to set drainage rates. Sewers to be created and all new houses to be connected to drains. Doors and gates which open on to the street to be made to open inwards. Party walls to be carried up through the roof. The Local Government Act 1858 gave local authorities power to make byelaws with respect to new streets and the provision of sewerage, the structure of walls of new buildings for securing stability and the prevention of fires, a sufficiency of space about buildings to secure free circulation of air, and the ventilation and drainage of buildings. It also created the power to remove, alter or pull down any work begun or done in contravention. Party walls are carried above the roofline of these London houses. It was not unusual in semi-urban districts to modify the relevant clause in the model byelaws to exempt houses of less than 30 feet in height, reducing cost and the potential for penetration by rain. (Opposite) 41/42 Cloth Fair, by the church of St Bartholmew the Great. Built in the early 17th century, it is a unique survivor of Great Fire of London. The use of timber on the gable would be prohibited by the Rebuilding of London Act 1666.
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