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
Whitechapel 1896
The annual report on the sanitary condition of the Whitechapel District, (with vital and other statistics), for the year 1896 (consisting of 53 weeks) being the thirteenth annual report
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Table P.—SANITARY AND OTHER WORK PERFORMED BY THE INSPECTORS.—1896.
| Classification of Work. | Quarter ended Mar. 28th. | Quarter ended June 27th. | Quarter ended Sept. 26th. | Quarter ended Dec. 26th. | Totals for the year. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Inspections of Houses as shown in the Official Returns | 7302 | 7449 | 5993 | 6184 | 26928 |
| Number of intimations served | 556 | 675 | 612 | 457 | 2300 |
| Number of statutory notices served | 50 | 41 | 69 | 122 | 282 |
| Number of telegrams sent | 11 | 38 | 45 | 52 | 146 |
| Number of letters sent | 185 | 232 | 360 | 362 | 1139 |
| Summonses taken out under Public Health (London) Act | 22 | .. | 11 | 33 | 66 |
| ,, ,, Adulteration of Food and Drugs Acts | .. | 5 | .. | 4 | 9 |
| Cellars used as dwellings caused to be discontinued to be so used | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| Cases of overcrowding and indecent occupation abated | 22 | 21 | 34 | 23 | 100 |
| Housing in which walls and ceilings have been cleansed or repaired | 321 | 502 | 535 | 375 | 1733 |
| Roofs of houses repaired | 40 | 37 | 27 | 45 | 149 |
| Ventilation of houses improved | 27 | 79 | 26 | 32 | 164 |
| Houses in which floorings of rooms, staircases, risers or treads, window-sashes and frames, baluster rails, or fire stoves have been repaired | 49 | 99 | 34 | 61 | 243 |
| Damp courses to houses inserted | 3 | 16 | 1 | 20 | 40 |
| Passages and staircases of houses provided with light | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Eave-gutters and stack-pipes provided or repaired | 54 | 37 | 20 | 50 | 161 |
| Nuisances from smoke abated | 2 | 1 | 4 | .. | 7 |
| Rooms disinfected with sulphurous acid gas after the occurrence of cases of infectious disease | 200 | 242 | 375 | 357 | 1174 |
| Articles consisting of beds, bedding, clothing, etc., removed and disinfected | 6052 | 5990 | 12476 | 10016 | 34534 |
| Articles burnt by consent | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Hackney carriages disinfected | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 |
| Courts and yards of houses paved, or paving repaired | 74 | 103 | 70 | 60 | 307 |
| Drainage of houses altered, improved or reconstructed | 122 | 161 | 318 | 74 | 675 |
| Traps to drains in houses, yards or courts improved | 181 | 219 | 375 | 110 | 885 |
| Closet pans and traps re-set | 77 | 175 | 152 | 68 | 472 |
| Closets provided with light and ventilation | 6 | 68 | 13 | 8 | 95 |
| Closets provided with a water supply and flushing apparatus, or defective water fittings repaired | 80 | 140 | 90 | 95 | 405 |
| Closets cleansed or repaired | 223 | 282 | 192 | 172 | 869 |
| Walls of yards or courts limewashed | 28 | 64 | 26 | 33 | 151 |
| Water supply to houses provided or improved | 18 | 25 | 17 | 19 | 79 |
| Nuisances from dung or other offensive matter removed | 23 | 42 | 49 | 32 | 146 |
| Houses closed by Magistrates' order, or by consent, as unfit for human habitation | 17 | 1 | .. | 4 | 22 |
| Dust-bins provided or repaired, or removed, and galvanised iron dust-pails substituted | .. | 5 | 22 | 6 | 33 |
| Samples under Sale of Food and Drugs Act submitted to the public analyst | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 120 |
| Animals, kept so as to constitute a nuisance, removed | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Shed used as a sleeping department, discontinued | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
| Bakehouses cleansed | 3 | 8 | .. | 31 | 42 |
| Workshops cleansed | 20 | 48 | 11 | 32 | 111 |
| Ventilation of workshops improved | 26 | 46 | 10 | 39 | 121 |
| Overcrowding in workshops abated | 9 | 16 | .. | 8 | 33 |
| Additional closet accommodation to workshops provided | 8 | 30 | 26 | 24 | 88 |
| Workshops closed | 13 | 16 | 5 | 14 | 48 |
| Receptacles for dung provided and reconstructed | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| Additional water closets provided for dwelling houses and schools | .. | .. | .. | 22 | 22 |
In addition to the above, the Inspectors nave had destroyed as unfit for human food during the year the following articles,
viz.:—35 crates of Bananas; 39 boxes of Oranges; l0½ barrels and 16½ bushels of Apples ; 5 bags of Broocoli; 17 boxes of Lemons;
9 sacks of Onions; 5 bushels of Cherries; 1 peck of Apricots; 21 bushels of Plums; 16 bushels and 11 boxes of Pears; 3 baskets
of Cucumbers; 8 boxes of Tomatoes; 79 Melons; 1 case of Grapes; 1 barrel of Cods' Roes; 1 trunk of Haddocks; 3 barrels andd 50
Bream; 6 baskets of Dried Herrings; ½-ton mixed Fish; 826 cases and 43 barrels of Anchovies; 4 Hake; 2 barrels of Salmon
Trout; 2 boxes of Eggs; 4 cwt, of Beef, and 238 sides of Bacon.