London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1903
The annual report on the health, sanitary condition, etc., etc., of the Royal Borough of Kensington for the year 1903
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4
POPULATION AND RATEABLE VALUE.
The subjoined statement exhibits the growth of population during the nineteenth century:—
| The Year. | Population. |
|---|---|
| 1801 | 8,556 |
| 1811 | 10,886 |
| 1821 | 14,428 |
| 1831 | 20,902 |
| 1841 | 26,834 |
| 1851 | 44,053 |
| 1861 | 70,108 |
| 1871 | 120,299 |
| 1881 | 163,151 |
| 1891 | 170,071 |
| 1901 | 176,628 |
The development of the Borough during the last 80 years is evidenced by the subjoined
statement, showing the increase in rateable value. The present total is about one-sixteenth of that
of the Administrative County of London.
Rateable Value of Property.
The Year.
675,916 1823
98,397 1833
142,772 1843
257,103 1853
444,030 1863
975,046 1873
1,711,495 1883
2,037,221 1893
£2,288,992 (October) 1903
The following table, brought up to date, exhibits the growth of the borough since the Metropolis Local Management Act came into operation, in 1856:—
| 1856. | 1903. | Increase in 47 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 57,000 | 178,000 | 121,000 |
| Number of Inhabited Houses | 7,600 | 23,000 | 15,400 |
| Rateable Value of Property | £308,000 | £2,288,992 | £1,980,992 |
The increase in all respects within the last thirty-two years, 1871-1903, the period over which my official experience extends, was very considerable, as the subjoined figures show:—
| 1871. | 1903. | Increase in 32 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 121,000 | 178,000 | 57,000 |
| Number of Inhabited Houses | 15,735 | 23,000 | 7,265 |
| Rateable Value | £935,720 | £2,288,992 | £1,353,272 |
It thus appears that the population in 1903 was more than twenty times as large as in the
first year of the nineteenth century, and the rateable value of property nearly thirty times as great
as in 1823, the first year in respect to which I possess information. Since 1856, the rateable value
has increased more than seven-fold, the increase in the last 32 years being nearly four-fold the total
in 1856; since which date the population and the number of inhabited houses have increased more
than three-fold.