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
London County Council 1894
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Since the year 1851, therefore, there has been a considerable and continued increase in the
number of houses and in the population of St. Paul's parish, whereas, with some slight fluctuations, the
conditions in St. Nicholas have remained stationary. The census report of 1871, remarking upon this,
states " the increase of population in the parish of St. Paul, Deptford, is attributed to building operations,
the houses being chiefly occupied by persons in business in London who are attracted by the
facilities of railway communication."
The decrease in the population of the parish of St. Nicholas at the date of the last census is in
part accounted for by the demolition, under Cross's Acts, of a large number of houses in the Hughesfields
area, which took place a few years previous to 1891.
For statistical purposes Deptford is included in the registration district of Greenwich, being
divided into three registration sub-districts, namely, North, South and Central Deptford. Owing to the
fact that it is not a separate sanitary area, and forms but part of a registration district, statistical
information is not readily obtainable. Mr. Roberts, the medical officer of health of Deptford, gives in
each of his annual reports the number of births and deaths occurring in the district during a period
corresponding to that to which the figures in the annual summary of the Registrar General relate.
These figures have been made use of in calculating the following rates. Only the last four years have
been taken into account, as prior to 1890 the annual reports deal with the twelve months ending in
March, and further the number of deaths of parishioners of Deptford who died in outlying institutions
is not available. The parish of St. Paul, Deptford, contains the South Eastern Hospital of the Metropolitan
Asylums Board. Those deaths occurring in the hospital, and which do not belong to Deptford,
have been excluded.
During this period the birth-rate for each year in Deptford has been—
1890. 1891. 1892. 1893.
83.7 82.8 82.7 31.9
The Registrar General in his annual summary for each of these years gives the following rates
for registration London—
1890. 1891. 1892. 1893.
29.1 81.8 30.9 81.0
The deaths which have occurred in Deptford during each of the same four years give the following rates for deaths from all causes. The death rate for London generally for each year is also given—
| Deptford. | London. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 20.1 | 20.0 |
| 1891 | 20.58 | 21.1 |
| 1892 | 19.60 | 20.3 |
| 1893 | 20.6 | 21.0 |
These rates are uncorrected for sex and age. The infantile death rates (or the deaths of children under one year of age to every 1,000 births) are as follows—
| Deptford. | London. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 157 | 162 |
| 1891 | 146 | 154 |
| 1892 | 159 | 154 |
| 1893 | 174 | 164 |
The deaths from the principal zymotic diseases, given by the medical officer of health in his reports, give the following rates per 1,000 living—
| Deptford. | London. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 2.02 | 2.28 |
| 1892 | 2.62 | 2.80 |
| 1893 | 3.51 | 3.05 |
For the year 1890 the number of deaths from zymotic diseases which occurred amongst
parishioners of Deptford in outlying institutions is not separately given.
During these four years therefore the general death rate has been somewhat less than in London
generally. The zymotic death rate has, however, tended to increase to a greater extent than in London.
Of the two parishes which together form the district known as Deptford, St. Nicholas is considerably
the smaller, its area being 109 acres as compared with 1,554 acres of land in the parish of
St. Paul. St. Nicholas parish is situated in the north-eastern portion of the district, and the houses
generally are of an older date than in other parts of Deptford. It is in this parish that the Hughesfields
area is situated.
The parish of St. Paul may be said to consist of two parts, namely, that which contains the
residential and better class property, and that containing the poorer class of dwellings. The former,
situated for the most part to the south of a line formed across the district by the South Eastern Railway,
contains many large houses in broad roads, and provided with large gardens. It is probably to this
part of the district that reference is made in the quotation given above from the census report of 1871
as to the cause of the increase of population in the parish. The portion of the parish which
contains the poorer class of dwellings lies chiefly to the north of the above line, but it is mainly in the
neighbourhood around Deptford railway station, and in the parish of St. Nicholas that the poorest class
of dwelling is to be found.
Speaking generally, the houses in Deptford are two storeys high, built in fairly wide streets, and
provided with fair-sized yards or gardens in the rear. Considerable improvement has been made, and is
still in progress, in apart of the district, known as New-town, lying to the west of the Mill-lane area, by