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REPORT OP THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
Vestry Hall,
Hampstead, N.W.
19th June, 1899.
To the Vestry of the Parish of St. John, Hampstead.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to lay before you my Annual Report dealing
with the vital statistics of the Parish of Hampstead for the registration
year 1898.
The estimated population in the middle of the year 1898 is 80,623
being an increase of 2,074 over the previous year.
During 1898, 171 new houses and 175 new flats or separate suites
of rooms, came into occupation, making a total of 346 new tenements.
The growth of the flat system has been steady and progressive in
this parish. Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to compare the relative
healthiness of these dwellings with that of single houses, but a recent
dangerous outbreak of fire in a large block of flats in a neighbouring
parish points to a dangerous condition of things in these buildings not
sufficiently recognized by architects when planning staircases, passages,
and exits for these composite structures.
Marriages.—The total number of marriages in 1898 was 613, an
increase of 87 over the previous year. The marriage rate for London
was the highest on record since 1877, an evidence of the prosperous
condition of the country.
Births,—The births registered during 1898 were 1,516, an increase