View report page

4
SECTION A
SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE BOROUGH AND
STATISTICS
Hammersmith is the most westerly Borough in the County
of London, covering an area of 2,282.5 acres. It is bounded on
the north by the Borough of Willesden, on the south by the
River Thames, on the east by the Royal Borough of Kensington
and the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham, and on the west by
the Boroughs of Acton, and Brentford and Chiswick.
The sub-soil in the northern half of the Borough, i.e., north
of Uxbridge Road, mainly consists of clay, whilst in the south it
consists of a layer of some 20ft. of gravel above blue clay.
Years ago there was a layer several feet thick of brown clay,
particularly in the east of the Borough, much of which was
excavated for brick making purposes before building development
took place.
There are 23 acres of public gardens and open spaces which
are controlled by the Council, and 255 acres by the London
County Council, 4½ acres of the Grand Junction Canal and 128
acres covered by the River.
The Borough, once a quiet rural area in the County of
Middlesex and relatively untouched by the spread of London,
became part of the County of London in 1885, and is now both
a highly developed industrial and residential area, in which little
of the old world remains apart from such places as the Latymer
Foundation School founded in 1624, Kent House and others in
the Lower and Upper Malls dating back to the 17th century,
Kelmscott House, the home of William Morris and Hammersmith
Terrace which is composed of 17th and 18th century houses.
Apart from its residential and industrial population, the
Borough attracts a large number of visitors by reason of various
centres which are to be found within its boundaries. St. Paul's
Boys' and Girls' Schools, West London, Royal Masonic and
Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospitals, the Hammersmith Hospital
and British Postgraduate Medical School, White City
Stadium, Olympia, the Television Studios at Lime Grove and the
Television Centre in Wood Lane, and of course Wormwood
Scrubs, all attract their quota of people from outside our
boundaries. The Boat Race also brings many people to our
attractive riverside for a few hours every spring, whatever the
weather may be.
The total length of the roads in the Borough is approximately
67 miles, and traffic on the main roads is very heavy, particularly
over Hammersmith Bridge leading to the south, and to the main
road to Oxford, the West, and London Airport.
There are approximately 300 industrial undertakings, the
majority of which are situated in the North, although some of the
largest single employers of labour are to be found in the South.