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It was not only the Boultons who knew
Soho as home. Some of their employees lived in houses at the Manufactory
and at the Foundry. Matthew Boulton built a row of houses called
Brook Row at the Manufactory, and rented out gardens to his workers.
| Left: Workers at the Soho Foundry, 1895 |
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When Soho Foundry opened in 1796, a row of houses was provided for
workers such as filers, fitters, drillers and engine erectors. A second
row was added in 1801, with larger houses being added in 1808. The
houses were painted white, chocolate and yellow, and each contained
a kitchen, pantry, wash-house, and three bedchambers.
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| Above: Chamber plan of the Soho
Foundry Cottages, 1796 |
At his nearby iron works, French Walls, James Watt Jr also built houses.
He let them out to selected tenants, including Hollins Hunt, a foreman
from Soho Foundry, whose dog was described as “an annoyance to
the place, he should be shot”. Thomas Blythe was rejected as
a tenant as he was “a waster, won't allow him to contaminate the
Row” but Thomas Skidmore got a house because “he is a respectable
orderly man…”
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| Above: Elevation for the first
row of the Soho Foundry Cottages, 1796 |
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