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
Chelsea 1931
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chelsea, 1931
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Annual Report
on the
Health of the Metropolitan Borough
of Chelsea.
Year ending 31st December, 1931.
| Area | (acres) 660 |
| Resident Population :—Registrar-General's estimate, 1931 | 57,220 |
| Number of Inhabited Houses (end of 1931) according to Rate Books | 11,919 |
| Rateable value, October, 1931 | £1,217,381 |
| Sum represented by a penny rate, October, 1931 | £4,815 |
Physical Features and General Character of the Area.—The
Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, situated near the centre of the Metropolis,
is bounded on the north by the Royal Borough of Kensington
on the west by the Borough of Fulham, on the east by the City of Westminster,
and on the south by the river Thames. It is a small compact
borough, less than two miles in length, by about three-quarters of a
mile in width.
Over nearly the whole area the soil consists of gravel and sand, highly
permeable to water. In a small portion of the western side of the Borough
there is a thin loamy deposit of brick earth resting upon the gravelThere
is a narrow strip of alluvial deposit extending along the Embankment
from Battersea Bridge westwards.
The northern portion of the area is largely built over. The central
zone comprises a number of pleasant squares occupied by people in
affluent circumstances. The grounds of the Royal Hospital, with the
river Thames and Battersea Park beyond, render the southern zone
unusually open.