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
Merton and Morden 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
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SECTION A.—STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA.
| Area (in acres) | 3,238 |
| Number of inhabited houses (end of 1937) according to Rate Books | 18,240 |
| Rateable Value at 31st December, 1937 | £553,627 |
| Sum represented by Id. rate | £2,210 |
Lying in the valley of the Thames and naturally drained
by its tributaries the River Wandle and the Pyl and Beverley
Brooks, the district is flat. The surface rises gently from
the northern or Wimbledon boundary towards the southern
limit of the Morden Ward, the whole lying between the 42ft.
and 141ft. ordnance datum levels. The subsoil in the
northern part is a sandy gravel which merges into the London
clay which extends throughout the great part of the district
lying to the south.
The district continued its steady development. A further
1,369 new houses and 449 flats were erected, the former being
mostly of the small owner-occupier type.
Further progress was made with a view to creating a new
Civic Centre on a site embracing both sides of the London
Road in the Morden Ward bordering on and having as its
setting Morden Park.
Industry. The number of factories and workshops as defined by the Factories and Workshops Act at the end of the year was as follows:—
| Factories with more than 40 employees | 22 |
| Factories with less than 40 employees | 60 |
| Total factories | 82 |
| Workshops | 28 |
| Total factories and workshops | 110 |