London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
4
stands empty, legitimate returns on the capital outlay are eaten up by the cost of necessary repairs.
It will accordingly be readily understood that the task which is set the Council of securing satisfactory
lodgings for the less fortunate of the working class population in the Ward of Golborne and
similar districts is one of the utmost difficulty, and further that no small part of the difficulty
experienced has been directly due to an exodus from Kensington to districts where better
accommodation can be obtained at lower rents.
In calculating the number of persons at all ages living in the whole Borough on any given date in the new intercensal period, it will be necessary to assume that this exodus has continued at approximately the same rate, and on this assumption the population in the middle of the year 1911, twelve weeks after the Census enumeration has been estimated to have numbered 172,300, and to have been distributed in North and South Kensington and in the several Wards of the Borough, as shown in the following Table:—
| The Borough | 172,300 | |
| North Kensington | 88,150 | |
| South Kensington | 84,150 | |
| Wards :— | ||
| North Kensington | St. Charles | 21,260 |
| Golborne | 25,470 | |
| Norland | 22,710 | |
| Pembridge | 18,710 | |
| South Kensington | Holland | 20,060 |
| Earl's Court | 17,750 | |
| Queen's Gate | 14,040 | |
| Bedeliffe | 18,390 | |
| Brompton | 18,910 | |
In regard to the social status of the population it may be said that the majority of the
inhabitants of North Kensington live in poverty; in South Kensington persons living in poverty
constitute only a small fraction of the population. In so far as the figures are available, the
population, the number of inhabited houses and the rateable value of property since 1801 have
been shown in the annual reports for 1908 and previous years, and need not be given again in this
report.
Marriages.—The marriages celebrated during the year numbered 1,684. The number of
marriages celebrated annually and the annual marriage rate since 1856 were given in the annual
report for 1908, Appendix II., Table A, page 60.
Arranged as to sex and legitimacy the births were as follows:—
| Male. | Female. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate | 1,602 | 1,449 | 3,051 |
| Illegitimate | 75 | 97 | 172 |
| Total | 1,677 | 1,546 | 3,223 |