The Select Committee of Parliament on Town Holdings ran for nearly six years, finally reporting in 1892. Its chair was Lewis Fry

Lewis Fry

Lewis Fry DL, was a Quaker, lawyer, philanthropist and a Liberal and later Liberal and Unionist politician who sat in the House of Commons in three spells between 1878 and 1900.-Early life:...

, a solicitor and town councillor from Bristol.

The rapid expansion of the population of industrial cities and towns in the early years of the nineteenth century led to the growth of vast urban slums. The realization that overcrowded living conditions were a danger to public health resulted in several parliamentary investigations on town planning.

Several Select Committees examined proposals for redeveloping parts of London. The Town Holdings Committee investigated the land tenure systems in force in towns throughout Great Britain and Ireland, landlord-tenant relations and municipal finance.

The committee was appointed on 18 March 1896 with the mebership of Mr. Mellor, Mr. Wodehouse

John Wodehouse, 2nd Earl of Kimberley

John Wodehouse, 2nd Earl of Kimberley , known as Lord Wodehouse from 1866 to 1902, was a British peer and landowner, who was the first member of the Labour Party in the House of Lords....

, Lord William Compton

William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton

William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG , known as Lord William Compton from 1877 to 1887 and as Earl Compton from 1887 to 1897, was a British peer and Liberal politician....

, Viscount Wolmer

William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne

William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne KG, GCMG, PC , styled Viscount Wolmer between 1882 and 1895, was a British politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...

, Mr. Asher

Alexander Asher

Alexander Asher was a Scottish politician.Educated at Edinburgh University, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1861 and was appointed an Advocate Depute in 1870....

, Mr. Lewis Fry, Mr. Edward Russell, Mr. Conybeare, Mr. Goschen, Sir Henry James, Mr. Lawson, Mr. Saunders, Mr. Arthur Balfour

Arthur Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...

, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Macartney, Mr. Tyssen Amherst , Viscount Folkstone, Mr. Sidney Herbert

Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke

Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke, 11th Earl of Montgomery GCVO, PC , styled The Honourable Sidney Herbert between 1861 and 1895, was a British politician and peer.-Background and education:...

, Mr. Gregory, Sir John Ellis

Sir John Ellis, 1st Baronet

Sir John Whittaker Ellis, 1st Baronet was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.Born on 25 January 1829, Sir John Whittaker Ellis was the 5th son of Joseph Ellis, owner of the Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond, Surrey, from 1830–1847 and lived in Byfleet for some years at Petersham...

, Mr. Bartley , Mr. Crilly, Mr. O'Dogherty, and Colonel Nolan

The 1897 report included a census of housing which includes details of leases and building operations in progress as well as of the number, quality and types of houses in two hundred and fifty large towns in England and Wales.

Reports of the Select Committee

Irish Universities Press: Parliamentary papers on Planning series:

• Volume 4: Report from the Select Committee on Town Holdings with minutes of evidence, appendix and index, 1886 ISBN 0716507048
• Volume 5: Report from the Select Committee on Town Holdings together with the proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix 1887 ISBN 0716507056
• Volume 6: Report from the Select Committee on Town Holdings with minutes of evidence, appendix and index, 1888. ISBN 0716507064
• Volume 7: Report from the Select Committee on Town Holdings with an index, 1889 ISBN 0716507072
• Volume 8: Report from the Select Committee on Town Holdings with minutes of evidence, appendix and index, 1890. ISBN 0716507080
• Volume 9: Select Committee Reports on Town Holdings with proceedings, minutes of evidence, appendices and indexes, 1890-1892, ISBN 0716507099
• Volume 10: Reports from Select Committees on Town Improvements with minutes of evidence, appendix and index, 1890-1894 ISBN 0716508443