London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1891

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]

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4
number in 1881, would represent an increase in population of
7596, whereas the enumerated increase was only 4542, equivalent
to 4 2 persons to each of 1076 houses. But this is
not all. Since 1881, many large buildings have been erected
in this sub-district, suites of rooms in which are let separately
as " Flats," and are occupied by persons belonging to the upper
classes. Each Flat contains a distinct family, and practically
is a distinct house. But, whatever the number of Flats
within one front door, each building is lor Census purposes
reckoned as one house. There are, at least, fifty such compound-houses
in the sub-district, a fact which alone would
account for nearly a moiety of the enumerate! increase of
population,for on the rate books these fifty buildings count as
311 houses, and are separately rated as such. The newly
inhabited houses, therefore,taking this fact into consideration,
are considerably more than 1076, compared with the number
in 1881. The number of persons to a house, Imay add, which
was 7.06 in 1881, fell to 6'63 in 1891. I may further add, that of
the total increase of population (4542) as enumerated, 2315 is
due to natural increase (excess of births over deaths) and
2227 to immigration.
The figures for the Town sub-district are truly surprising.
No one suspected a diminished density of population:
all the facts of our daily experience—as regards the northern
parts of the district at any rate—pointed in an opposite
direction. With an increase of 755 in the number of inhabited
houses (to say nothing of the new "Flats," the previous
remarks applying, but to a less proportional degree), which
should represent an increase in population, on the 1861-71
scale, of 6047 persons, or on the 1871-81 scale, of 7459 persons,
there was an actual decrease of 1372; so that there were
in 1891 only 8 persons to a house, against 8.53 in 1881. In
this district the births in the ten years exceeded the deaths
by 11,244. But these make no show at all in the census
returns: all have been lost, and more, there being, as stated,