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
Greenwich 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]
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39
of discrepancies in age constitution. A more accurate ascertainment
would be to return a rate based upon the marriage of unmarried
persons over the age of 16 years (legal marriage is prohibited
where either party is under 16 years). As over 90% of all
births are legitimate it follows that the extent to which people
marry exerts a powerful influence on the fertility rate.
Mrs. V. M. Gilham and Mr. H. E. Turner, Superintendent
Registrars for the Districts of Greenwich and Woolwich respectively,
have kindly furnished me with particulars relating to the
number of marriages solemnised or registered in the London
Borough of Greenwich during 1968. The total of 2,199 gives a
marriage rate (i.e. persons marrying) of 19.21 per 1,000 population,
an increase of 1.27 over that of the previous year and is 1.41 in
advance of the figure of 16.8 for England and Wales. Greater
London returned a rate of 19.10.
The following table shows particulars given by the Registrars for the past 4 years.
| Year | Area | Church of England | Chapels and R.C. Churches | Non Conforming Churches and Chapels | Register Office | Total | Reg. General's Estimate of Population | Marriage Rate (persons marrying) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Greenwich | 285 | 84 | 60 | 256 | 1,992 | 231,770 | 17.24 |
| Woolwich | 604 | 115 | 104 | 484 | ||||
| 1966 | Greenwich | 280 | 78 | 23 | 284 | 1,927 | 231,590 | 16.69 |
| Woolwich | 570 | 114 | 91 | 487 | ||||
| 1967 | Greenwich | 291 | 71 | 69 | 288 | 2,066 | 231,150 | 17.94 |
| Woolwich | 597 | 127 | 79 | 544 | ||||
| 1968 | Greenwich | 329 | 78 | 80 | 286 | 2,199 | 229.700 | 19.21 |
| Woolwich | 612 | 144 | 84 | 586 |
In England and Wales during the past 30 years marriages have
tended to be contracted earlier, especially among females under
the age of 20 years and, although the increase in popularity for
young marriages is losing momentum, nevertheless, from 1951 to
1967 the number of wives in this group has risen from 44 to 77 per
1,000. Furthermore, in the age group 15-24 years, the number of
married males per 1,000 has risen from 132 in 1961 to 170 in 1967