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

Shoreditch 1950

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]

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2.
To the MAYOR, ALDERMEN and COUNCILLORS of SHOREDITCH.
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In presenting the Annual Report for 1950, I am reminded that,
writing of the year 1900, the then Medical Officer of Health said"I
think it may be gathered that Shoreditch of the present day is a
greatly improved place from a sanitary point of view as compared with

Table: The work of improvement has steadily progressed, it has been especially marked during recent years, and there is no reason to doubt that under the Borough Council this good work will continue" How right he was in this surmise may be gleaned from the following comparative figures:-

The work of improvement has steadily progressed, it has been especially marked during recent years, and there is no reason to doubt that under the Borough Council this good work will continue" How right he was in this surmise may be gleaned from the following comparative figures:-

Earliest figure traced19001950
Population109,257 (1851)121,33544,800
Birth rate40 (1859)32.917.65
Death rate£2.8(1856)21.412.38
Infant mortality165. (1870) ("accuracy doubted" by M. O. H. 1900).187.30.34
Deaths 0 - 5(%of whole)44,5 (3893)44.7%4.68%
Deaths 5-15 „5.2 (1893)3.3%1.087%
Diphtheria notifications-353.20.
" deaths60. (1859)54.Nil
Scarlet Fever deaths73. (1860)18.Nil
Typhoid deaths225. (1856)14.Nil
Erysipelas deaths-10.Nil
Puerperal fever deaths-3.Nil
Tuberculosis deaths460. (1856)343.20.

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By 1900, however, "Shoreditch may be regarded as a district
having good sewers and good drains"... "a constant water supply"...
"paving" and "cleansing of such places"..."modern underground
conveniences and lavatories within the past 5 years"..."magnificent
public baths" and no deaths from such diseases as smallpox, typhus
or cholera.
The comparative figures quoted do not imply that we are by any
means satisfied that further improvements are not possible - far
from it. For instance, we have already (1947) had an infant mortality
rate of 24 and feel that further improvement will come at an early
date, as the population becomes educated to antenatal examination in
every case. (The figure this year appears worse than it should,