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
Kensington 1876
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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42
At the census, 1871, the number of persons on an average in each
house was 7.8. The density was somewhat greater in the Town
sub-district, and only 7 per house in Brompton.
The subjoined table exhibits at a glance some of the evidences of the growth of Kensington within the present century :—
| The Year. | Population. | Rateable value of Property. | The Year. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 8,556 | £75,916 | 1823 |
| 1821 | 14,428 | 93,397 | 1833 |
| 1841 | 26,834 | 142,772 | 1843 |
| 1851 | 44,053 | 257,103 | 1853 |
| 1861 | 70,108 | 375,333 | 1860 |
| 1871 | 120,299 | 590,711 | 1865 |
| 1876 | 148,000 | 817,326 | 1879 |
| 1877 (July) | 151,500 | 1,345,806 (October) | 1877 |
MARRIAGES.
The number of marriages celebrated in 1876 was 1,417, viz.:—
In the Church 1,211
At Nonconformist Chapels 46
At Roman Catholic „ 65
At the Superintendent Registrar's Office 95
Total 1417
The marriage rate (i.e, number of persons married to 1,000
population) was 19. The rate in England and Wales in 1874 was
17.1 and in 1875, 16.8. The number of marriages in Kensington
in 1875 was 1,346; in 1874, 1,311; in 1873, 1241; in 1872
1,122; in 1871, 1,131.
BIRTHS.
Four thousand five hundred births (viz., 2,271 males and 2,229
females), 3,667 in the Town sub-district, and 833 in Brompton
were registered. The birth-rate in the entire parish was 32.9,
(increase over 1855,1.7) to 1,000 persons living; 33.3 in the Town
sub-district, 21.9 in Brompton. The decennial birth-rate in
Kensington (1866-75) was 31.8 per 1,000. The Metropolitan rate
last year was 36.5. The relative proportions of the sexes born
were 101.8 males to 100 females: the male births forming 50.4 and
the females 49 6 per cent. of the total number. The low birthrate
in Kensington, and particularly in the Brompton sub-district,
is obviously due to the disproportion in the relative number of the
sexes, and to the excess of (unmarried) female population. The
illegitimate births registered were 186, equal to 3.3 per cent. on total
births: 78 of these took place at the parish workhouse, which is within
the Town sub-district, and where 105 children (including five still
births) were born. The legitimate births in the workhouse were
24, and three children were born of widows. Only 11 illegitimate
births were registered in Brompton.