In a small and compact village like Saltaire, it's hard to hide things. I imagine that must have been even more the case in Victorian times. The 1871 census suggests there were on average five people living in every house. I don't know what services were provided then - there would no doubt have been lamplighters to light the gas street lamps. Did they have people who emptied the dustbins? I suppose there would have been much less waste thrown away - certainly not so much packaging and no plastics of course. Nowadays, the smaller terraces in Saltaire have special compact wheelie bins for rubbish and 'blue bags' for waste paper recycling. I'm in two minds as to whether all the rows of dustbins detract from or add something to the back alleyways. They are a fact of life, and can't easily be hidden.
(I think this photo looks better if you click on it to make it a bit bigger.)
"Did they have people who emptied the dustbins?" Interesting question - I suppose you are right when you say there would be much less rubbish in those days. Fine photo - you are a blogger after my own heart.
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