[Merry]

I agree about the photos. Not even a smashed window in Charter St (the last photo) and nicely hung curtains and blinds at the windows.

The trouble is once something doesn't look right in an article I start picking other holes... when the author says of the walls between adjoining properties 'just half a brick thick' what does he mean? I don't see any such walls in the photo where they are standing in the ruin. If he truly means half a brick thick that would be about 2" and I doubt the wall would stand up by itself. If he means a single skin brick wall (ie half the length of a brick, not half the width) then wouldn't that be normal for the time for an internal wall with no concerns about fire prevention etc? I would have also questioned how long William Kirby lived in the same house/room as it would be unusual to find someone at the same slum address two events running, but I won't ask that as OH's ancestors lived in the same slum for over 20 years in London in the 1820-40s!