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 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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55
The nature of the work given out to the home workers in the 170 homes on the register is
as follows:—
| Nature of Work. | No. of Premises. |
|---|---|
| Tailoring | 47 |
| Ironing | 33 |
| Outfitting | 23 |
| Bootmaking | 33 |
| Dressmaking, Blousemaking | 15 |
| Shirt making | 1 |
| Waistcoat making | 5 |
| Upholstery | 4 |
| Millinery | 1 |
| Brush making | 1 |
| Lace mending | 2 |
| Fur making | 1 |
| Embroidery | 3 |
| Artificial flower making | 1 |
| Total | 170 |
In 17 instances in the course of inspection, addresses were found incorrectly given, or the
outworker had left or given up work.
Condition of homes Visited—The following Table shows the circumstances of the 170 homes where work is carried on:—
| Nature of Room used for Work. | Condition of Rooms. | Total Number of Rooms. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean. | Fairly Clean. | Dirty. | ||
| Rooms used for work only | 33 | 7 | 4 | 44 |
| „ for work and as living rooms | 68 | 9 | 0 | 77 |
| „ for work and as bed and living rooms | 35 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
| Totals | 136 | 30 | 4 | 170 |
The sanitary defects remedied in the 170 homes were as follows:—
Rooms cleansed 4
W.C.'s found defective and remedied 3
Number of Defects remedied 7
On the whole the homeworkers, many of whom are women, belong to a respectable, thrifty
class and keep their rooms in a clean and tidy state. Their homes compare favourably with those
of the lower labouring classes, and instances of persons in great poverty carrying on work for an