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

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St Giles (Camden) 1861

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District]

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Six hundred and thirty-five, or 43.5 per cent. of the deaths were of
children under five years of age. Four hundred and fifty-eight or 31.4 per
cent. of the total deaths were of children who had not reached two years of
age. This enormous infantile mortality is unfortunately only what is
customary in our district. A hundred and forty persons only, or less than
one in ten reached the natural term of three score years and ten. The
average age at death was just 28 years. (Appendix III.)
The mortality was thus distributed through the four quarters of the
year:—The first quarter was as usual in large excess, having 445 deaths;
the second quarter gave 337, and the third 288 deaths; and in the fourth
quarter there was again a rise to 391. (Appendix IV.)
The deaths from all causes in St. Giles's, in 1801, represent a deathrate
of 27.03 per thousand; this is a rise of 0 8 in the thousand above the
death-rate of 1860, but it is still TO per thousand below the death-rate that
prevailed at and before 1857. The rise in the St. Giles's death-rate in 1861,
above that of previous years, is almost identical in amount with the rise that
was observed in London as a whole. The rise was not so great as was
witnessed either in the northern or the central divisions of the town.
The mortality of St. Giles's is still, therefore, far above that of the
average metropolis, viz., by nearly four in the thousand. Comparing
St. Giles's with the districts immediately adjacent to it, we find that it had,
in 1861, (the first time that this has been observed) a rival in its eminently
high death-rate. (See Table on following page.) Holborn district gave
27.04 deaths per thousand of its inhabitants. At some distance Marylebone
stood next in its mortality, with 24.25 deaths per thousand.
The Strand and. Saint Martin's districts were close upon the average
of the town giving each 23 37 deaths per thousand. And St. Pancras was
below the average of London, having a death-rate of 22.83 only. In every
one of these districts there has been some rise above the mortality of 1860,
the rise being less than that of St. Giles's in the Strand and St. Martin's,
greater than that of St. Giles's in St. Pancras, Marylebone, and especially in
Holbom. In making each of these comparisons, correction has been duly
made for deaths in hospitals and in outlying workhouses. (See next page and
Appendix II.)
The death-rate of 1861 is compared in greater detail with that of
former years in the subjoined scheme, where London at large, St. Giles's, and
the districts which lie around St. Giles's, have their death-rate (per ten
thousand fur greater nicety) examined for the past five years.

Death-rate per 10,000* in St. Giles's and neighbouring Districts.

DISTRICTS18571858185918601861
St. Pancras197.0224.9221.4208.7228.3
St. Marylebone217.3224.0225.0227.7242.5
Metropolis221.0234.4227.0224.1231.8
Holborn236.3247.7248.6238.7270.4
Strand239.4226.6262.9231.5233.7
St. Martin243.0218.5246.7228.6233.7
St. Giles's280.0258.2260.1262.4270.3

*Correction is here made for the longer duration of the registration year 1857,
Also for all deaths in hospitals and outlying workhouses,