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
Penge 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Penge]
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| Area (Acres) | 770 |
| Population (Census 1931) | 27,771 |
| Population (Census 1951) | 25,012 |
| Home Population, Mid-year 1957 (estimated by Registrar General) | 25,610 |
| Rateable Value, 1st April, 1957 | £330,750 |
| Sum represented by Id. rate | £1,031 |
The district, situated on the north-west border of Kent, and immediately
adjoining the Counties of London and Surrey, is on the slope of a hill, the
highest point being 370 feet above sea level and the lowest 95 feet above sea
level.
The density of population per acre is 33, this being by far the highest in
the County of Kent. This results in there being very few open spaces in the
district, the largest one being the grounds of the old Crystal Palace the majority
of which are in this area. This density of building has caused a shortage of space
for school playing fields for the schools of the district and pupils mainly have to
go outside the area for games.
The Manager of the Employment Exchange for the area informs me that
there were approximately 95 men and 47 women in the Penge area registered as
unemployed at the end of the year.
| Crude Live Birth Rate per 1,000 of estimated Home Population | 21.1 |
| Adjusted Live Birth Rate per 1,000 of estimated Home Population | 19.0 |
| Stillbirth Rate per 1,000 of estimated Home Population | 0.39 |
| Stillbirth Rate per 1,000 total (live and still births) | 18.1 |
| Crude Death Rate per 1,000 of estimated Live births | 11.1 |
| Adjusted Death Rate for 1,000 of estimated Home Population | 11.02 |
| All infants per 1,000 live births | 22.1 |
| Legitimate infants per 1,000 legitimate live births | 20.3 |
| Illegitimate infants per 1,000 illegitimate live births | 1.85 |
Births
The live births registered during the year numbered 541 compared with
495 in 1956. This gives a crude live birth rate of 21.1 per 1,000 Home Population
compared with 19.38 for 1956.
The area comparability factor calculated by the Registrar General for the
purpose of securing comparability between local birth rates is 0.90. This makes
the Adjusted Birth Rate 19.0 compared with 17.44 in 1956.
Stillbirths
The number of stillbirths registered was 10, equal to a rate of 18.1 of
1,000 total births, compared with 20.2 for 1956.