A rookery, in the colloquial English of the 18th and 19th centuries, was a city slum occupied by poor people and frequently also by criminals and prostitutes. Such areas were overcrowded, with low-quality housing and little or no sanitation. Local industry such as coal plants and gasholders polluted the rookery air.[1] Poorly constructed dwellings, built with multiple stories and often crammed into any area of open ground, created densely-populated areas of gloomy, narrow streets and alleyways. By many, these parts of the city were sometimes deemed "uninhabitable".[2]
- ^ Roberts, Robert (1973). The classic slum : Salford life in the first quarter of the century. Harmondsworth. ISBN 9780140216929.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Dyos, H. J. (1967). "The Slums of Victorian London". Victorian Studies. 11 (1): 5–40. ISSN 0042-5222.