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
Holborn 1909
Report for the year 1909 of the Medical Officer of Health
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28
London. The probable changes that will take place in the Borough, and the cost
of the erection and maintenance of working class dwellings, especially as many of
the large dwellings in central districts of London—on account of the high value of
the sites—have led to heavy charges on the rates.
On account of these various factors, very many of the houses that originally
were generally well constructed for and occupied by one family are now occupied
by many families. In Holborn we have a very large number of such houses, as
many as 861 of them at the beginning of the year 1909 being on our register of
houses let in lodgings. These houses have not been altered or adapted for
suitable occupation by separate families.
These changes have also led to a general increase in the value of land in
Holborn, and it becomes increasingly difficult to find suitable sites for the erection
of working class houses without any charge on the rates.
I also presented a detailed report respecting the existing housing accommodation in the Borough for the working classes and the rents charged for the various tenements, an abstract of which is given in the following table:—
| LC.C. Dwellings. | Other Dwellings. | Older Dwellings (less satisfactory). | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenements—Number of | ||||
| 1 Room | 55 | 336 | 99 | 490 |
| 2 Rooms | 522 | 772 | 22 | 1316 |
| 3 Rooms | 324 | 385 | 1 | 710 |
| 4 Rooms | 98 | 2 | — | 100 |
| Total Tenements | 999 | 1495 | 122 | 2616 |
| Tenements Vacant | Nil | 38 | 8 | 46 |
| Percentage of Vacancies | Nil | 2.5 | 6.5 | 1.8 |
| Rents— | ||||
| 1 Room | 3/6 — 5/- | 1/9 — 7/6 | 2/6 — 6/- | |
| 2 Rooms | 6/- — 8- | 4/6 — 10/6 | 6/6 — 8/6 | |
| 3 Rooms | 8/-— 10/6 | 5/- —14/- | 8/- | |
| 4 Rooms | 11/- — 13/- | 11/- —12/6 | — |
Details as to the large number of common lodging houses in the Borough,
providing accommodation for 1,967 lodgers, are given on page 34.
These questions were from time to time fully considered by the Committee,
but no recommendation thereon was made to the Council.
HOUSING, TOWN PLANNING, ETC., BILL, 1909.
This Bill was carefully considered by the Housing of the Working Classes
Committee, and a Special Joint Committee, who reported fully thereon, and
submitted various recommendations, which, after some modifications, were adopted
by the Council. The Bill was passed on December 3rd, 1909.