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
City of Westminster 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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would be higher still if it were possible to ascertain the addresses of all
the persons going from this area to institutions where their deaths
occurred.
Two blocks of buildings contributed to a large extent to the high
death rate, one of these, known as St. John's Chambers, occupied the
west side of Smith Square and accommodated some 400 persons.
The two blocks in which the chambers were arranged, formed a strange
contrast to the " old-world red-brick houses with beautiful doorways,
quaint windows, and sloping roofs" on the other side of the Square.
At one time, these chambers were fairly well looked after, but as is
usual when improvement schemes are, on foot, less money was spent in
keeping the place in repair, and the character of the inhabitants also
deteriorated, until the City Council were forced to threaten to close the
premises as unfit for habitation, when some steps were taken by the
owners, but very shortly after the County Council acquired the
buildings, and shut them up. Lyon's Buildings, in Tufton Street,
was a particularly bad feature of this street, it was a badly constructed
block of dwellings, with a population of about 200 persons;
there was considerable overcrowding, which was abated, and the
worst parts of the building were also closed, the County Council on
acquiring it still further restricted its use, until eventually it was pulled
down. The death rate, calculated on known deaths, was 55'8 per 1,000
in 1901-2, this was reduced to 30 in 1903-4. The death rate from
consumption in 1901-2 was six times greater than that for the whole
City.
Worked out in tabular form, the rest of Tufton Street also shows a high death rate in the years 1901-4:—
| Deaths per annum per 100 Houses. | Deaths per annum per 1,000 Population. | |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-District No. 3 | 31 | 23.7 |
| Tufton-street excluding Lyon's Buildings | 41 | 31.6 |
| Tufton Street, including Lyon's Buildings | 53 | 40.9 |
Half of the houses in Tufton Street on the east side have been
demolished. Several of the houses remaining require continual
supervision by the Sanitary Inspectors. Most of them in this street
and in the rest of this district can only be kept habitable by constant
care and attention on the part of the owners. On the plan showing
the area of the Improvement Scheme it will be observed that a new
street is to be cut from Smith Square to Marsham Street, through the
middle of this district, while Marsham Street and Tufton Street will
be widened to 50 ft.