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
Kensington 1905
Annual report on the health, sanitary condition, etc., etc., of the Royal Borough of Kensington for the year 1905
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11
The infantile deaths in North Kensington, after distribution of the deaths at the Borough
Infirmary, were 395, or 159 per 1,000 births ; those in South Kensington 103, or 105 per 1,000.
In the several wards the rate was as follows:—
North Kensington—
8t. Charles 95 deaths = 157
Golborne 138 deaths = 149
Norland 125 deaths = 199
Pembridge 42 deaths = 117
South Kensington— per 1,000 registered births.
Holland 24 deaths =- 87
Earl'8'8 Court 25 deaths = 107
Queen's Gate*14 deaths = 116
Redcliffe 21 deaths = 91
Brompton 14 deaths = 122
The infantile mortality rate in the Metropolis, usually below that of Kensington, was 129, as
compared with an average proportion of 153 per 1,000 in the preceding ten years.
The lowest rates in the Metropolitan Boroughs were: St. Marylebonet 88, Lewisham and
Holborn 92, and Hampstead 94; the highest rates: Bethnal Green 151, Poplar 153 and Shoreditch
167. The rate in seven boroughs was higher, and in twenty-one boroughs lower than in
Kensington.
In England and Wales the rate was 128, the lowest yet recorded, and 22 per 1,000 below
the mean proportion in the ten years 1895-1904.
In the 76 great towns of England and Wales (including London) the rate averaged 140 per
1,000, ranging from 66 in Hornsey, 80 in Handsworth (Staffs.) and 83 in Bournemouth, to 193 in
Merthyr Tydfil, 195 in Hanley and 200 in Rhondda. The rate in Rural England was 113 per 1,000.
Infantile Mortality Rate.
| year. | The Borough. | Kensington Town. | Brompton. | London. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths under 1 year. | Deaths per 1,000 births. | Deaths under 1 year. | Deaths per 1,000 births. | Deaths under 1 year. | Deaths per 1,000 births. | Deaths under 1 year per 1,000 births. | |
| 1895 | 624 | 172 | 552 | 181 | 72 | 118 | 166 |
| 1896 | 656 | 176 | 578 | 186 | 78 | 127 | 162 |
| 1897 | 609 | 166 | 531 | 169 | 78 | 142 | 159 |
| 1898 | 655 | 180 | 593 | 212 | 62 | 112 | 167 |
| 1899 | 642 | 179 | 574 | 188 | 68 | 125 | 167 |
| 1900 | 641 | 179 | 581 | 192 | 60 | 106 | 160 |
| 1901 | 581 | 161 | 506 | 166 | 75 | 135 | 149 |
| 1902 | 515 | 148 | 449 | 152 | 66 | 124 | 141 |
| 1903 | 510 | 143 | 461 | 152 | 49 | 92 | 131 |
| 1904 | 503 | 146 | 451 | 154 | 52 | 101 | 146 |
| Average 1895-1904 | 594 | 165 | 528 | 175 | 66 | 118 | 153 |
| 1905 | 498 | 144 | 442 | 150 | 56 | 110 | 129 |
* There were 19 deaths in the ward, but five of them occurred at the Borough Infirmary, the previous residence of the
mothers not being known, and presumably not having been in this ward.
† The low rate in St. Marylebone is due to the presence of Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital, at which, some 120 births
to Kensington mothers alone were registered during the year.