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
London County Council 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Sanitary area. | No. of houses for which applications for certificates were received during 1909. | No. of tenements comprised therein. | No. of tenements for which applications for certificates were | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granted. | Refused. | Deferred or withdrawn. | |||
| City of London | |||||
| Battersea | 9 | 21 | 5 | — | 16 |
| Bermondsey | 18 | 38 | 38 | — | — |
| Bethnal Green | 9 | 177 | 160 | 17 | — |
| Camberwell | 40 | 67 | 13 | — | 54 |
| Chelsea | 4 | 24 | 6 | — | 18 |
| Deptford | — | — | — | — | — |
| Finsbury | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fulham | 289 | 614 | 248† | 72 | 294 |
| Greenwich | 57 | 162 | 8 | 154 | — |
| Hackney | 3 | 10 | 10 | — | — |
| Hammersmith | 39 | 154 | 64 | 4 | 86 |
| Hampstead | 13 | 96 | — | — | 96 |
| Holbora | 5 | 101 | 94 | 7 | — |
| Islington | 8 | 78 | 31 | 47 | — |
| Kensington | 10 | 51* | 31 | — | — |
| Lambeth | 38 | 87 | 42 | 45 | — |
| Lewisham | 27 | 59 | 59 | _ | — |
| Paddington | 6 | 31 | 18 | 4 | 9 |
| Poplar | — | — | — | — | |
| St. Marylebone | 8 | 61 | 55 | 2 | 4 |
| St. Pancras | 4 | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 |
| Shoreditch | 3 | 26 | 22 | 4 | — |
| Southwark | 21 | 78 | 78 | — | — |
| Stepney | 7 | 44 | 44 | — | _ |
| Stoke Newington | 6 | 30 | 30 | — | — |
| Wandsworth | 146 | 304 | 238 | 32 | 34 |
| Westminster, City of | 11 | 99 | 95 | — | 4 |
| Woolwich | 16 | 32 | 32 | — | — |
* Includes 20 tenements to which the applications for certificates did not apply.
† Including 205 renewals.
Underground Rooms.
The provision in the Housing and Town Planning Act relating to the occupation of underground
rooms for sleeping purposes does not come into force until the 1st July, 1910, and hence the proceedings
of the London sanitary authorities were limited to underground rooms which were occupied
separately. The occupation of underground rooms which did not comply with the requirements of
the Public Health (London) Act of 1891, was found to occur in Hampstead in buildings erected as
" flats," in which in seven instances caretakers were found to be in such occupation. Dr. McCleary
calls attention to the fact that a sanitary authority has no power to prevent the construction of underground
rooms which do not complv with the Public Health Act.
The number of underground rooms dealt with in 1909 in the several sanitary areas is shown in the following table:—
| Sanitary area. | No. of rooms illegally occupied. | No. of rooms closed* or illegal occupation discontinued. | Sanitary area. | No. of rooms illegally occupied. | No. of rooms closed* or illegal occupation discontinued. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of London | Kensington | 17 | - | ||
| Battersea | 26 | 26* | Lambeth | 8 | 8 |
| Bermondsey | — | — | Lewisham | — | — |
| Bethnal Green | 6 | 6 | Paddington | — | — |
| Camberwell | _ | _ | Poplar | — | — |
| Chelsea | 4 | 4* | St. Marylebone | 163 | 163 |
| Deptford | — | — | St. Pancras | 6 | 6 |
| Finsbury | 18 | 18 | Shoreditch | 3 | |
| Fulham | _ | _ | Southwark | 4 | 4 |
| Greenwich | 4 | 4* | Stepney | 52 | 25* |
| Hackney | — | — | Stoke Newington | 1 | |
| Hammersmith | — | _ | Wandsworth | — | — |
| Hampstead | 82 | 82 | Westminster, City of | 42 | 42* |
| Holborn | 33 | 33* | Woolwich | 1 | 1 |
| Islington | 28 | 16* | |||