London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hampstead 1907

Report for the year 1907 of the Medical Officer of Health

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109
and in such other parts thereof" as the factory inspector may
direct, and section 133 of the Act provides that " when any woman,
young person, or child is employed in a workshop in which no
abstract of this Act is affixed as by this Act required, and the
Medical Officer of Health of the District Council becomes aware
thereof, he shall forthwith give written notice thereof to the Inspector
for the district." Pursuant to this section 40 workshops and one
factory were notified to H.M. Inspector of Factories.
Illegal Hours of Labour.
The prevention of illegal overtime is not dealt with by the
Health Department, but by the Factory Inspectors. Occasionally,
however, complaints of this kind are brought to notice, and are
communicated to the Factory Inspectors. A bad case occurred at
the end of the year. On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Fisher was informed
that the female assistants in the employ of a florist in South Hampstead,
had been at work on the previous Sunday from 8 a.m. till
midnight, not having a full hour for dinner or any time for tea.
She was also informed that they had started work on the Monday,
December 23rd, at 8 a.m., had worked all that day and through the
night and the next day, December 24th, and that they were expecting
to work all day on Christmas Day. Mrs. Fisher immediately
reported the matter to the Factory Inspector, who subsequently
instituted legal proceedings against the employers. The case was
heard at the Marylebone Police Court before Mr. Paul Taylor, and
it was proved that the assistants worked from 8 a.m. on December
23rd to 10 p.m. on December 24th, a period of 38 hours. For the
defence it was urged that although the hours were long the work
was pleasant, but the Magistrate remarked that it was a bad case
and that such employment must be strenuously put down, and he
fined the defendants six pounds with sixteen shillings costs.
Bakehouses.
At the end of 1907 there were 37 Bakehouses on the Register,
22 being underground, and 15 over ground. No Bakehouse was
closed.
The Bakehouses have been kept under constant supervision
during the year, and 170 inspections were made. Four notices were