View report page

The position of the Council is a very difficult one, because it
is impossible to carry out any great reform which is going to do
good in the long run, without causing hardship to some
individuals. Unfortunately many of the. inhabitants of the slum
districts, not only in Bermondsey, but elsewhere, have never been
accustomed to proper housing conditions, and I am afraid that it
is only by improved education that they can be brought to appreciate
the amenities of good housing.
II. VITAL STATISTICS.
GENERAL.
The area of the Borough (exclusive of area covered by water)
is 1,336 acres.
At the 1921 Census there were 18,266 structurally separate
dwellings in the Borough, which were inhabited by 28,610
families or separate occupiers.
The rateable value of the Borough on the 31st December,
1925, was £1,022,640, the product of a penny rate being £4.109.
POPULATION
The population of the Borough of Bermondsey, as enumerated
in the Census of 1911 and 1921, and the estimate of the
year under report are as follows:—
1911.
1921.
Estimated
to
June 30th, 1925.
125,903 119,452 123,000
The population of Bermondsey for 1925 has been estimated
by the Registrar-General as 123,000, and this figure has been
utilised in estimating the birth and death rates.