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after the advent of the railway which he praised in glowing and patriotic
terms, how the market gardens would be built over and commerce and trunk
roads would take precedence
Hammersmith became part of the County of London in 1885 and is now
a highly developed industrial and residential area, but still a little remains
of the old scene, The Latymer Foundation School was founded in 1624,
Kent House and others in the Malls also date back to the seventeenth century.
Kelmscott House the home of William Morris and also houses in Hammersmith
Terrace were built in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The sub soil in the nothern part of the Borough i.e. north of Ux-
bridge Road mainly consists of clay whilst in the south it consists of a
layer of some 20 feet of gravel above blue clay particularly over in the
east much of which was excavated for brick making purposes
There are 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 Borough Council.
The total length of the roads in the Borough is approximately 68 miles
and traffic is very heavy particularly over Hammersmith Bridge to the south
and the main roads to Oxford, the West and London Airport especially on
that part of the Great West Road running through the Borough work on which
is still in progress
VITAL STATISTICS
(a) Population
In this report the rates are calculated on the estimated population
adopted by the Registrar General namely 111, 700 which compared with 113,300
for 1956 shows a reduction of 1,600.
This is the sixth year the Registrar General has reported a reduction.
There has been no epidemic causing any mortality during the year and
the excess of births over deaths has been maintained.
(b) Marriages.
The number of marriages was 1,266 a decrease of 22 as compared with
the previous year.
Particulars are set out hereunder
The Register Office 487
Buildings registered for marriages
(Roman Catholic Churches and Chapels
at which a Registrar attends) 391
Churches of the Church of England 322
Authorised Persons (Chapels at which a
Registrar does not attend) 46
Jewish Synagogues 20
1,266
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