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HEALTH REPORT FOR 1955.
The Urban District of Coulsdon and Purley was constituted
by an Order of the Local Government Board dated 1st November,
1914, and came into existence on the 7th April, 1915. It has,
therefore, been a separate District for 41 years.
Situated on the North Downs immediately to the south of
Croydon, this well-favoured "dormitory" suburb, has a very considerable
proportion of its area reserved as part of the "Green
Belt," and there is comparatively little dense development.
The majority of the residents who work, do so in London
or Croydon, travelling to and fro daily. Locally there are no
really large manufacturing or other industries, most of the
residents employed in the District being connected with building
and decorating, with the provision of food and the other wants
of the inhabitants, or attached to the mental hospitals. The
amount of unemployment, apart from temporary unemployment
pending transfer, is still negligible.
AREA AND POPULATION.
The District has an area of 11,142 acres, these being distributed
among the wards as follows
Coulsdon East 2,812
Coulsdon West 1,253
Kenley 1,292
Purley 685
Sanderstead 2,311
Selsdon and Farleigh 1,924
Woodcote 865
At the time of the 1951 census the population was shown to
be 63,770 and apparently this is thought to have increased only
slightly since, the mid-year population for 1955 being estimated by
the Registrar-General to have been 65,420 compared with 64,650
last year. The latest figures are. however, almost certainly underestimates.
These numbers include persons resident in Institutions in the
District, the number of which at the end of 1955 were as follows:-
Cane Hill Hospital 2,454
Netherne Hospital 2,127
Russell Hill School 222
Reedham Orphanage 271
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