London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Holborn 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
25
had become "factories" and the necessary transfer to the factory register was effected.
Variations in the staff employed were also frequently reported. During the year 22
workshops were added to the register.
It was necessary to serve the following notices for the abatement of sanitary nuisances in factories, workshops and workplaces.
| Intimation Notices. | Statutory Notices. | |
|---|---|---|
| Factories | 26 | 5 |
| Workshops | 38 | 3 |
| Workplaces | 47 | 4 |
| 111 | 12 |
Of tho 613 workshops on the register at the end of the year
321 employed men only,
62 employed women only, and
230 employed both men and women.
The number of employees is often very small and many of the workshops are in
tenement houses (houses let in lodgings).
No fewer than 151 different industries are carried on in these workshops, among the principal being the following:—
| No. of Workshops Employing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men only. | Women only. | Both Sexes. | Total. | |
| Boot makers and repairers | 16 | — | 1 | 17 |
| Builders | 13 | — | — | 13 |
| Cabinetmakers | 7 | — | — | 7 |
| Carpenters | 10 | — | — | 10 |
| Clock and watch makers | 12 | — | 1 | 13 |
| Dressmakers and ladies'tailors | — | 22 | 25 | 47 |
| Diamond mounters | 10 | — | 3 | 13 |
| Engravers | 14 | — | 2 | 16 |
| Glass blowers | 8 | — | 10 | |
| Jewellers | 39 | — | 12 | 51 |
| Lamp shade makers | — | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Leather goods makers | — | 4 | 9 | |
| Metalworkers | 6 | — | 1 | 7 |
| Picture framers | 9 | — | 1 | 10 |
| Tailors | 31 | 5 | 53 | 99 |
Factories.
These visits also afforded an opportunity for extending and revising information
relating to factories" in the Borough. Steps are being taken for the gradual
compilation of a register of such places, and at the end of the year 446 factories had
been entered oil the register. Workshops are automatically converted, at a very small
cost, into factories by the installation of a small electric motor ; the health conditions
then may no longer be inspected by the Borough Council's staff except as regards
sanitary accommodation.
The 446 factories include 51 different industries. In 249 cases men only were
employed, in 17 women only, and in 210 both sexes.