ABSTRACT
The Artisans’ and Labourers’ Dwellings Improvement Act introduced by Cross in 1875 aimed to remove slums and put new working-class dwellings in their place. The midwife for this operation was to be the local authority, which would designate the site, compensate the owners, clear the land, and sell it to private developers. One geography would be replaced by another. Needless to say this programme, simple in outline and modern in conception, bristled with difficulties of all sorts. These arose in detail in the practical application of each stage of the operation. More fundamentally, they reflected problems in aligning the desired reconstruction with prevailing economic and social structures and processes. Despite this, Cross’s Act, modified in detail, was to form a persistent framework for clearance in our period, and the manner of its introduction warrants close attention.
