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
Paddington 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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4
POPULATION.
When examining the populations of the individual Wards account has to be taken of the
influence of the various institutions situated therein. In this respect Westbourne and Church
Wards are notable examples, there being in the former the Workhouse, the Infirmary, the Casual
Wards, the Lock Hospital, and the London County Council Place of Detention, and in Church
Ward, St. Mary.s and the Children.s (Paddington Green) Hospitals. The populations of the larger
institutions are given in Table 3, which is extracted from Table 17 of the First Volume of the
Census (1911) Report. The proportions of the "inmates" in the various institutions mentioned
not belonging to Paddington are not known, but the institutions which are likely to receive more
non.residents than residents of the Borough are indicated by italic type. The 10 institutions
included in Table 3 contained a total population of 2,184 persons, 5 of the institutions (population,
1,628) being in Westbourne Ward, while the institutional population in Church Ward
numbered 500. In Vol. VI. of the Census Report the term "institution" is used in a much
wider sense, as in Table 2 of that volume no fewer than 68 "institutions" are tabulated (without
being specified) with a total population of 3,551 persons.
TABLE 3. Principal Public Institutions. Census, 1911.
| Ward. | Class and Name of Institution. | Inmates. | Officials. | Total Inhabitants. Persons. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. | |||
| Poor Law Institutions— | ||||||
| W. | Workhouse | 496 | 462 | 13 | 27 | 998 |
| W. | Infirmary | 159 | 130 | 5 | 30 | 324 |
| w. | 38 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 48 | |
| Hospitals— | ||||||
| w. | 6 | 180 | 2 | 34 | 222 | |
| Ch. | 160 | 122 | 21 | 140 | 443 | |
| Ch. | 15 | 20 | 2 | 20 | 57 | |
| Nursing Homes— | ||||||
| M.V. | 1 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 37 | |
| M.V. | 1 | 5 | — | 4 | 10 | |
| Others— | ||||||
| W. | 28 | — | 4 | 4 | 36 | |
| Auxiliary Girls. Home | — | 7 | — | 2 | 9 | |
| Totals | 904 | 946 | 51 | 283 | 2,184 | |
W.—Westbourne. Ch.—Church. M.V.—Maida Vale.
. Now closed.
Housing.—The methods of tabulating the information obtained in the last census relating
to this subject having been completely changed, comparison with the results of former census
work is difficult and uncertain. Table 4 is an extract of that part of Table 2 given in Vol. VI.
of the Census Report which relates to the Borough. In examining Table 4 the following
definitions given in the Census Report require to be taken into consideration.
"Ordinary dwelling houses" include all buildings designed for occupation by single private
families.
A "block of flats" comprises all the space within the external and party walls of a building.
Each flat forming with a lock.up shop (on ground floor) a separate building is counted as a " block
of flats." (In 1901 each block of flats was counted as a " house.")
"Shops" are reckoned as inhabited only where the staff, &c., sleep on the premises.
"Hotels. Inns, Public.houses " include temperance hotels.