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SECTION A
SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE BOROUGH AND
STATISTICS
Hammersmith Is a westerly Borough In the County of London, covering
an area of 2,282.5 acres. It Is bounded on the north and west by
Middlesex Borougis, on the south by the Thames, and on the east by the
Royal Borough of Kensington and the Metropolitan Borough of FUlham.
The sub-soli In the northern half of the Borough, I.e. north of
Uxbrldge Road, mainly consists of clay, whilst in the south it consists
of a layer of seme 20 feet of gravel above blue clay,particularly over
in the east, much of which was excavated for brick, making purposes before
building development occurred.
We have approximately 287 acres of parks and open spaces, of which
262 acres are controlled by the London County Council, and the remaining
25 acres by the Council.
Hammersmith, once a quiet rural area in the County of Middlesex
and untouched by the spread of London, became part of the County in
1885, and is now a highly developed industrial and residential area,
and almost nothing remains of old times. The Latymer Foundation School
was founded in 1624 and Kent House and others in the Malls date back
to the seventeenth century. Kelmscott House, the home of William Morris,
and also houses In Hamnersmlth Terrace were built In the 17th and 18th
centuries.
Apart frcm Its residential and industrial population a large number
of visitors are attracted by various centres which perhaps are
world famous. St. Paul's Boys and Girls' Schools, West London and
Royal Masonic Hospitals, Queen Charlotte' s Maternity Hospital, Hanmersmlth
Hospital and British Postgraduate Medical School, the White City
Stadium, Olympla and the Television Studios at Lime Grove and woodLana
Wormwood Scrubs also attracts its quota of people from outside our
boundaries. The Boat Race too brings many visitors 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 68
miles and traffic Is very heavy particularly over Hanmersmlth Bridge
leading to the south, and on the main roads to Oxford, the Wtest and
London Airport.
Towards the end of the year the portion of the new Cromwell Road
Extension, now known as the Great West Road, from Hanmersmlth Bridge
Road to Chiswlck Lane in the Borough of Brentford and Chlswick was
opened for vehicular traffic by the Chairman of the London County
Council, Mrs. Helen c. Brentwlch, J.P., and work on a further section
eastwards towards Barons Court is in progress, and as a result the
Thames side area had been opened up and much improved.
The new road consists of a dual carriageway with roundabouts and
subways, and It is proposed to Join the old section of the Great West
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