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 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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In regard to the social status of the population, it may be said that the majority of the
inhabitants in North Kensington belong to the poor class, whilst in South Kensington persons of
that class constitute only a small proportion of the population.
The borough is peculiar in that there is no one occupation which absorbs a very large proportion
of the male workers as is commonly found in many of the industrial areas.
MARRIAGES.
During the year, 1,931 marriages were registered, representing a rate of 22.2 per 1,000 of the population. The place of marriage is set out in the following table:—
| Church of England | 859 |
| Roman Catholic Church | 238 |
| Nonconformist Church | 44 |
| Jewish Church | 12 |
| Register Office | 778 |
| Total | 1,931 |
BIRTHS.
The number of births registered was 2,544, after correction for inward and outward transfers; and the birth rate for the borough was 14.4 per 1,000 population. Distributed according to sex and legitimacy the births were as follow:—
| Male. | Female. | Total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate | 1,191 | 1,187 | 2,328 | ||
| Illegitimate | 112 | 104 | 216 | ||
| Totals. | 1,303 | 1,241 | 2,544 | ||
Table showing the number of births and the birth rates in England and Wales, London, Kensington, and the various districts in the borough in 1929, and the rates for the previous five years:—
| District. | 1929. | Birth-rates in previous years. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of births. | Birth-rate. | 1928. | 1927. | 1926. | 1925. | 1924. | |
| England and Wales | 644,218 | 16.3 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 17.8 | 18.3 | 18.8 |
| London | 70,090 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 16.1 | 17.1 | 18.0 | 18.7 |
| The Borough | 2,544 | 14.4 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 15.1 | 15.8 | 16.2 |
| North Kensington | 1,790 | 19.3 | 18.7 | 19.8 | 18.7 | 20.6 | 21.7 |
| South Kensington | 647 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 9.2 |
| Wards. | |||||||
| St. Charles | 470 | 19.3 | 20.2 | 15.6 | 18.4 | 18.8 | 20.5 |
| Golborne | 576 | 21.8 | 20.8 | 23.7 | 21.8 | 22.2 | 25.2 |
| Norland | 477 | 21.5 | 19.3 | 22.9 | 21.1 | 26.0 | 24.8 |
| Pembridge | 267 | 13.3 | 13.5 | 16.5 | 12.2 | 14.5 | 14.9 |
| Holland | 156 | 8.2 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 10.8 |
| Earl's Court | 157 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 8.2 | 9.9 | |
| Queen's Gate | 86 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 6.9 |
| Redcliffe | 184 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.7 |
| Brompton | 64 | 5.0 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 7.5 |
| Ward unknown | 107 | • • • | • • • | • • • | • • • | ||
The effects of social status on the birth rate are illustrated by the fact that the rate for South
Kensington is usually less than half the rate for North Kensington, whilst in 1929 the birth rate
in each of the two wards in which the poorest inhabitants of the borough reside was more
than four times as great as the rate for the ward of Brompton in the south.