London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1911
Report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1911
This page requires JavaScript
38
filthy to such an extent that the dirt could be shovelled up in flakes
1 to 2 inches thick. The owner was seen and stated that the
tenant paid no rent, was under notice to quit, was employed by a
neighbouring borough council, and that he had been unable to
obtain access to the rooms for some considerable time.
When the Lady Health Visitor made her re-visit, the tenement
was empty. The family had removed secretly during the night
time.
| Occupants. | 1 Room. | 2 Rooms. | 3 Rooms. | 4 Rooms. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parents, 1 child | 14 | – | – | – |
| „ 2 children | 19 | 5 | – | – |
| „ 3 „ | 31 | 15 | – | – |
| „ 4 „ | 18 | 20 | 1 | – |
| ,, 5 ,, | 3 | 24 | 2 | – |
| „ 6 ,, | 3 | 22 | 2 | 2 |
| „ 7 „ | – | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| „ 8 „ | – | 5 | 2 | – |
| „ 10 „ | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 88 | 96 | 12 | 4 |
Eighty-eight families or 44 per cent, lived and slept in one room
only. In 192 tenements the kitchen was also used as a sleeping
room owing to the lack of other suitable accommodation. Twelve
of the tenements were damp, 189 were dirty, 66 were dark, and 192
were stuffy and badly ventilated—the windows were rarely opened.
In 130 instances the walls were verminous, in 116 homes the vermin
had invaded the picture frames in profusion. The bedding was
dirty in 185 cases, insufficient in 179, and verminous in 99