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
Lewisham 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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82
Factories and workshops
A report on the administration of the Factory and Workshop Act,
1901 relating to factories, workshops, laundries, workplaces and home
work in the Borough was made in 1905, of which the following are
extracts:—
"Workshops,—There are in the Borough 548 workshops, containing
863 workrooms to which provisions of the Factory and Workshops Act
apply. The number of workers found on inspection amounted to
2,154 of which 542 were men, 1,214 women, and 398 young persons."
"The largest proportion of these workers were engaged in the
dressmaking, laundry and millinery trades, there being 1,180 women,
305 young persons, and 18 men employed."
"Domestic workshops—i.e. private houses, places, or rooms where
no power is used, and in which the only persons employed are members
of the same family dwelling there. There are 351 domestic workshops
in the Borough."
An analysis of the work carried out by the sanitary inspectors was
as follows:—
Statement of Defects Found
Table 63
| Defect or Infringement | No. found | No. remedied | Referred to H.M. Inspector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dealt with under Public Health (London) Act— | 423 | 410 | 3 |
| Under the Factory and Workshop Act— | 1 | 1 |
1 Workshops and Workrooms on the Register at the end of 1905.
Table 64
| Class of Work | No. | Number of Rooms | Number of Workers Allowed | Number of Workers Found | Part Time and Domestic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Artificial Light | Overtime | Men | Women | Young Persons | Number | No. of Rooms | |||
| Dress | 152 | 196 | 1486 | 1423 | 915 | 738 | 258 | 77 | 77 | |
| Millinery | 39 | 49 | 266 | 254 | 157 | — | 62 | 41 | 4 | 4 |
| Laundry | 85 | 266 | 1109 | 1043 | 672 | 18 | 380 | 6 | 114 | 192 |
| Tailor | 46 | 49 | 218 | 200 | 138 | 85 | 19 | 8 | 13 | 13 |
| Boot | 74 | 75 | 263 | 244 | 163 | 113 | — | 16 | 73 | 73 |
| Joiner | 15 | 30 | 515 | 483 | 367 | 51 | — | 12 | 4 | 4 |
| Smith | 22 | 25 | 301 | 297 | 217 | 58 | — | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Furrier | 4 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
| Cycles | 19 | 36 | 194 | 176 | 134 | 38 | — | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Coachbuilder | 10 | 23 | 294 | 279 | 213 | 37 | — | 7 | — | — |
| Cabinet and Upholsterer | 20 | 26 | 351 | 326 | 238 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Blindmaker | 3 | 5 | 28 | 26 | 17 | 6 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Photography | 5 | 13 | 41 | 39 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Picture-framer | 7 | 8 | 39 | 37 | 27 | 9 | — | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Jeweller | 16 | 17 | 79 | 69 | 47 | 23 | — | 7 | 18 | 18 |
| Piano | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Saddler | 8 | 9 | 55 | 46 | 36 | 19 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Mason | 4 | 5 | 62 | 60 | 43 | 8 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Lathrender | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — |
| Various | 14 | 20 | 118 | 114 | 86 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 17 |
| Total | 548 | 863 | 5467 5158 ;3524 | 542 1214 | 398 | 351 | 429 | |||
*Note:—Not including Bakehouses (94) and Restaurants (32)