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
Clerkenwell 1871
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Clerkenwell, St. James and St. John]
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The following are the results:—
| 1861. | 1871. | |
|---|---|---|
| Population of whole Parish | 65681 | |
| Inhabited Houses | 7088 | 6808 |
| Per house | 9.2 | 9.6 |
Population of Sub-districts:
| St. James | 19152 | 18917 |
| Amwell | 17250 | 16881 |
| Pentonville | 13079 | 13337 |
| Goswell | 16200 | 16212 |
The population of Clerkenwell, it may be stated, was in 1801,
23,396; in 1821, 39,105; in 1811, 56,756; and in 1851,
61,778.
The relation of the population to acreage in 187L was found to be as follows
| Acres. | Persons to Acre. | |
|---|---|---|
| St. James | 73 | 259 |
| 203 | ||
| Pentonville | 133 | 100 |
| Goswell | 91 | 178 |
Hence we deduce the following facts. The population of the
Parish has been diminished in the 10 years by 301 inhabitants;
the number of houses has been reduced 280. The St. James
sub-district has lost 235 inhabitants; the Amwell, 366; while
the Pentonville and Goswell sub-districts have increased 258,
and 42 respectively.
The most crowded districts of the metropolis are Westminster
(sub-district Berwick Street) where there are 429, Holborn
(sub-district St. Andrews) where there are 410, and St. Luke's
(sub-district Whitecross Street) where there are 418 persons to
the acre.
In 17 large towns in England the mortality per thousand has
been determined by the Registrar-General to be as follows
London, 21.7; Portsmouth, 19.3; Norwich, 25.9; Bristol, 23.2;
Wolverhampton, 28.0; Birmingham, 24.9; Leicester, 26.8;
Nottingham, 26; Liverpool, 35.1; Manchester, 31.2; Salford,
30.4; Bradford, 25.5; Leeds, 26.4; Sheffield, 28.3; Hull, 23.2;
Sunderland, 36.5; and Newcastle-on-Tyne, 32.2—the average
being 26.5.
The sub-districts according to population per acre stand
thus : St. James, Amwell, Goswell, and Pentonville.
The deaths occurring in the Parish in 1871, were thus 21
per thousand ; that for the separate sub-districts being St.
James 25, Amwell 18, Pentonville 21, and Goswell 21.