One of the things highlighted by Alfred Dickens was the terrible overcrowding suffered by many people in the Canning Town area. Landlords charged high rents, and families relying on an income based on casual work could only afford the most basic accommodation. Sometimes houses were divided in half, to accommodate two families, but this often meant that one family had to make do without a supply of drinking water.

Charles Dickens the well known Victorian novelist also wrote an article about conditions in Canning Town in which he described the squalid and unhealthy conditions in which people were forced to live.

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Tom McAllister
The Old Dispensary
30 Romford Road, Stratford
London E15 4BZ
Tel: 020 8430 6393 Fax: 020 8430 6392

Last updated 17 February 2003