View report page

7
PORT OF LONDON SANITARY OFFICES,
51, KING WILLIAM STREET,
GREENWICH, S.E.
TO THE WORSHIPFUL THE PORT OF LONDON
SANITARY COMMITTEE.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present herewith my Annual Report for the year
ended 31st December, 1908, being the seventh of the series.
Before dealing generally with the Report, and in view of the further
additions to your Staff of Sanitary Inspectors contemplated for the year 1909,
it may be of interest to give an outline of the growth of the Port Sanitary
Authority since it was first established by Provisional Order of the Local
Government Board in 1872—thirty-seven years ago—together with some
description of the extent of the Port, and of the districts daily covered by your
Officers. For convenience, I will deal with the latter first.
At the time of the Constitution of the Port Sanitary Authority, the limits
of the Port of London were from Teddington Lock to the North Foreland, a
distance of 88 miles.
By a Treasury Minute of 1st August, 1883, the seaward limit was placed
at a line drawn from Havengore Creek in Essex to Warden Point in Sheppey,
by which the distance was reduced to about 68 miles.
In addition, there are 22 creeks, with a navigable distance of 45 miles.
The Port of London traverses five Counties, including the Administrative
County of London, and 81 Parishes abut on the jurisdiction of the Port
Sanitary Authority.
The section of the River subjected to daily inspection is about 31 miles in
extent, representing 62 miles out and home for the launches.
The Docks, of which there are eight groups, have a total water area of about
631 acres, and a total length of quayage of about 25 miles.
The mileage to be covered daily, therefore, represents nearly 90 miles—in
direct line—the actual mileage being of course much more.
The population resident within the jurisdiction of the Port Sanitary
Authority, that is, living in the Port on vessels and in dwelling-houses, has
been estimated at about 10,000. The larger proportion is naturally