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 1906
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health 1906
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4
POPULATION AND RATEABLE VALUE.
The subjoined statement exhibits the growth of population during the nineteenth century:—
| The Year. | Population. | The Year. | Population. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 8,556 | 1861 | 70,108 |
| 1811 | 10,886 | 1871 | 120,299 |
| 1821 | 14,428 | 1881 | 163,151 |
| 1831 | 20,902 | 1891 | 170,071 |
| 1841 | 26,834 | 1901 | 176,628 |
| 1851 | 44,053 | 1906 | 179,500 |
The development of the Borough during the last 84 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. | Rateable Value of Property. | The Year. |
|---|---|---|---|
| £75,916 | 1823 | £975,046 | 1873 |
| 93,397 | 1833 | 1,711,495 | 1883 |
| 142,772 | 1843 | 2,037,221 | 1893 |
| 257,103 | 1853 | 2,395,590 | (October) 1906 |
| 444,030 | 1863 |
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. | 1906. | Increase in 51 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 57,000 | 179,500 | 122,500 |
| Number of Inhabited Houses | 7,600 | 23,000 | 15,400 |
| Rateable Value of Property | £308,000 | £2,395,590 | £2,087,590 |
The increase in all respects within the last thirty-six years, 1871-1906, the period over which my official experience extends, has been very considerable, as the subjoined figures show:—
| 1871. | 1906. | Increase in 36 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 121,000 | 179,500 | 58,500 |
| Number of Inhabited Houses | 15,735 | 23,000 | 7,265 |
| Rateable Value | £935,720 | £2,395,590 | £1,459,870 |
It thus appears that the population in 1906 was twenty-one times as large as in the first
year of the nineteenth century, and the rateable value of property more than thirty-one times as great
as in 1823, the first year in respect to which I possess information. Since 1856, the rateable value
has increased nearly eight-fold; the increase in the last 36 years being nearly five times the total
in 1856; since which date the population and the number of inhabited houses have increased
more than three-fold.