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Annual lieport of the Medical Officer of Health,—1893. 9
respectively. (b) Asylums—One lunatic, Bethlehem Hospital for Lunatics, the
Blind Asylum, and Miss Sharman's Home, in the London Road sub-district; Deaf
and Dumb Asylum in the Kent Road sub-district, (c) King Edward Schools and
the Yorkshire Schools, both in the London Road sub-district, (d) St. George's
Workhouse, in the Borough Road sub-district.
The density of population is materially augmented by a number of large and
densely-crowded buildings which exist in all the sub-districts. These are the so-called
"model" dwellings, which accommodate about 12,800 inmates. There are,moreover,
39 common lodging-houses, scattered all over the parish, and registered for the
accommodation of 1853 men and women. The majority of these houses and "model"
dwellings are situated in the Borough Road sub-district. Lastly, there is the
Salvation Army Shelter on the border of the Borough Road sub-district, which
receives from 800 to 900 persons nightly.
Another factor of importance in the question of density is found in the large
amount of slum property met with all over the district, which consists mainly
of small houses each containing several families. This class of property is specially
found in the Borough Road sub-district.
(3) Poverty. Mr. Charles Booth in his valuable work, entitled, " Life and Labour
of the People in London," lays down the general law that density of population
coincides with the degree of poverty. He gives the following statistics for the relative
amount of wealth and poverty in the Metropolis:—
Living in comfort 69-3 per cent.
Living in poverty 30'7 per cent.
For the central part of South London, which includes the parish of St. George's,
Southwark, he finds
Living in comfort 53 per cent.
Living in poverty 47 per cent.
In Southwark, comprising the Borough Road Sub-District, and St. Saviour's
Parish, Southwark, the figures are
Living in comfort 32.1 per cent.
Living in poverty 67.9 per cent.
According to Mr. Booth, the district covered by a circle with a radius of
half-a-mile from St. George's Church, gives a higher percentage of poverty than
any other in London; next on the list come the School Board blocks of Greenwich,
Goswell Road, and Bethnal Green.
A further classification of the 67.9 percentage of population of the district of
Southwark (as above defined) living in poverty, gives the following results:—
A. The lowest class—occasional labourers, loafers,
and semi-criminals—the elements of disorder . 6.3 per cent.
B. The very poor—casual labour, hand to mouth
existence, chronic want 20.3 per cent.
C and D. The poor—including alike those whose
earnings are small, because of irregularity of
employment, and those whose Work, though
regular, is ill-paid—18s. to 20s. a week for a
moderate family 41.3 per cent.
67.9 per cent.