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128
A SHORT HISTORY OF PUBLIC HEALTH
IN GREENWICH
1901—1950
The collation of material for the following review of 50 years
of Public Health in Greenwich has been undertaken by a member of
my Staff. While I take full responsibility for its contents, mine has
been the easy task of editing a manuscript already written and making
minor additions and alterations to the text. In order to obtain
an accurate account of the vast improvement in the Health of the
Borough, this summary should be read in conjunction with the
comparative statistics for 50 years included in the body of the main
Report.
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The beginning of the century saw the establishment in London
of the Metropolitan Boroughs under the Local Government Act,
1899, and in this brief resume of 50 years it will be as will to picture
conditions in 1900 at the time of this important change in Local
Government.
The formation of the Metropolitan Boroughs occurred during
the South African War at the end of Queen Victoria's reign in the
period known as the ' Golden Age ' when the sovereign was the
world's currency—when travel in town meant a ' hansom', brougham
or horso-tram and the motor car was a new ' infernal machine
It was when meat was sold from open-fronted shops, when few foods
or sweets were wrapped and when arsenical fly-papers were sold by
bowler-hatted itinerants who exhibited their wares in various
positions around their hats.
When the Metropolitan Borough Councils replaced the old
Boards of Works, public health standards in London were being
maintained largely by the application of the following Acts :—
Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855,
Food and Drugs Acts, 1875/99,
Local Government Acts, 1888/94,
Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
At this time little was known of, and slight attention given to
hygiene. Bacteriology and immunology were young and growing