View report page

As Dr. Dudfield remarks,* "It is an opprobrium to Kensington that the rate of infantile
mortality, calculated upon the basis of the number of deaths-under one year to 1,000 births registered,
is always above that of London as a whole." He adds that the rate differs greatly in different parts
of the parish, "the bad pre-eminence of which in this respect is due to the excessive infant mortality
in certain districts in North Kensington." The crude death rate for the whole of Kensington compares
favourably with that'of London. When correction is made, however, for age and sex distribution of the
population the difference becomes less marked. Thus, the crude death rate of Kensington for the
period 1887-96 is 17.0, but the corrected death rate is 187, whereas the corresponding rates for
London are 19.6 and 20.9 respectively. The comparative mortality figure (London 1,000) of Kensington
for the period 1887-96 is 895, and for the year 1897, 915.
It has already been seen that there are differences in the character of various parts of Kensington,
that the age distribution of the population is a peculiar one, and that the mortality figures afford
reason for concluding that in certain parts of Kensington an excessive rate of infant mortality prevails.
Kensington is divided into two registration sub-districts; these it will be seen present a very
marked contrast to one another. It is, however, possible to follow up the matter in much greater
detail, inasmuch as Dr. Dudfield gives in his annual reports the death rates in the six sanitary
inspectors' districts† into which the parish is at the present time divided. These are shown in the
annexed table abstracted from tables on p. 17, Annual lteport of 1897, and pp. 17 and 18, Annual
Report of 1898.

Tt will be seen from this table that in certain parts of Kensington the rates of mortality are
excessive. Among the sanitary districts the "North," and still more strikingly the "North-west,"
have high rates of mortality. In a portion of the "North-west" district, that known as the Notting
Dale "special area," the rates of mortality are seen to be exceptionally high.
The population of this "special area" having, under Dr. Dudfield's direction, been taken in
the course of house to house inspection by one of the Vestry's inspectors, Mr. Steward, in December,
1895, the medical officer was able in 1896 to discuss the rates of mortality in this area. A second
enumeration was made by Mr. Steward in June, 1896, and this time he took account of the whole of the
streets comprised in two of the enumeration districts into which Kensington is divided for census purposes,
these two districts (Nos. 31 and 56) including all the houses in the "special area," together with
certain other houses. It was thus possible to check the results obtained by Mr. Steward for each of the
enumeration districts with the returns of the census of March, 1896, and a very close correspondence
was observable.* The following figures with regard to the occupation of houses in the "special area"
were, moreover, obtained. They show in a striking manner the extent of such occupation.
*Annual report for the year 1896, p. 23.
†The boundaries of these districts are giveu on pages 2 and 3 of Dr. Dudfield's annual reports for 1897 and
1898. The populations of the districts, as given on page 8 of the Annual Report for 1898, are as follows—North,
33,350; north-east, 30,340; north-west, 16,850; central, 27,240; south-east, 32,200; south-west, 32,020.
‡Mr. Steward made the population of the enumeration districts 2,204 and 2,519 respectively. The census
return gave them as 2,241 and 2,515. The population of that portion of the special area, which is situated in
No. 31 enumeration district, was found to be 1,943, and that of the portion situated in No. 56 enumeration district
1,866. The total population of the special area was thus 3,809. The total found in the enumeration of 1895
was 3,857.