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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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| Offence. | No. of summonses | Magistrate's decision. |
|---|---|---|
| Allowing dog to deposit its excrement on the public footway. | 70 | Fines totalling £30 14s. Od. and 5s. costs were imposed in 65 cases; summons dismissed in 5 cases, three being under Probation of Offenders Act, 1907. |
| Breach of by-laws of London county council with respect to the removal of offensive matter. | 3 | Fines totalling £\ were imposed in 2 cases; summons dismissed in one case under Probation of Offenders Act, 1907. |
| Failure to deposit plans in respect of drainage work. | 2 | Summons dismissed in each case on payment of costs. |
| Failure to abate nuisance | 14 | Fined 10s. and order made to carry out work in two cases; order made to carry out work in 8 cases; summons withdrawn— nuisance abated—in 3 cases; summons adjourned sine die in 1 case, work being in hand. |
| Breach of Housing Act relating to overcrowding. | 4 | Summons withdrawn in each case, overcrowding having been abated. |
| Obstruction under Housing Act, 1936 | 6 | Summons dismissed in each case. |
| Permitting underground rooms to be used in contravention of closing orders. | 9 | Fines totalling £60 10s. with £4 4s. Od. costs. |
Smoke Abatement.
During the year twenty-nine special observations were made with a view to ascertaining whether
there were any breaches of the smoke provisions of the Public Health Act. No nuisances were
discovered which necessitated the service of written intimation notices, although in a few cases
owners and stokers were advised to adopt better methods of stoking, and burn a more suitable
grade of fuel.
Public Baths and Washhouses,
Swimming Baths.
Accommodation.—There are at the public baths (a) a men's first-class swimming bath with a
capacity of 126,000 gallons, (b) a women's first-class swimming bath with a capacity of 40,000 gallons,
(c) a men's second-class bath, and (d) a women's second-class bath, each of the latter having a capacity
of 45.000 gallons.
During the summer season (April to September) the four baths were in continuous use. Towards
the end of September the two first-class baths were emptied and cleaned. At the end of October
the two second-class baths were treated likewise, the women's second-class bath only being refilled
for use during the winter season.
Purification of swimming bath water.—The water of the swimming baths is subjected to continuous
filtration and chlorination. This has been found to be a satisfactory method of purification when
the free chlorine content of the water is kept at about 0-4 parts per million, and the temperature
of the water at about 73 degrees F. Any attempt to lower the chlorine content has been found to be
unsatisfactory from the bacteriological point of view. Complaints by swimmers of the ill-effects
of chlorine were rare even during the cold weather, when the water temperature was raised to 80
degrees and a slightly higher chlorine content was found to be necessary to keep the bacteriological
counts at a satisfactory level.
Numbers of persons using the swimming baths.—The number of persons using the baths during
1938 was 106,959. This represents a decrease of 24,569 on the figure for 1937, accounted for by
the comparatively cold weather during the summer season. A similar drop in numbers was
recorded in other districts in London.
Men 28,589
Women 23,844
L.C.C. Schools—
Boys 29,303
Girls 25,223
106,959
Bacteriological examination of swimming bath water.—During the season from April to September
samples of water for bacteriological examination were taken from each of the four baths on five
occasions, making a total of 40 samples. A further 18 samples were taken from the two secondclass
baths during the winter season.