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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The percentages belonging to the remaining five classes are given in the appended table, which is abstracted from Table III., "Life and Labour of the People." Vol. I., p. 36—
| Mile End. | Whitechapel. | Whole East-end District. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Lowest class | .8 | 3.3 | 1.2 |
| B. Casual earnings, very poor | 6.8 | 8.9 | 11.2 |
| C. Intermittent earnings | 6.0 | 10.7 | 8.3 |
| D. Small regular earnings | 12.6 | 16.3 | 14.5 |
| E. Regular standard earnings | 52.0 | 43.3 | 42.3 |
| F. Higher class labour | 14.9 | 11.3 | 13.6 |
| G. Lower middle class | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| H. Upper middle.class | 2.4 | 1.8 | 5.0 |
Sanitary administration is especially concerned with improvement of the houses of the poorer
classes, and the percentages given in the above table are therefore deserving of study. The three poorest
classes may be taken as representing the groups of population with which the sanitary inspector finds
most of his work associated. Of these three poorest classes the East End contained 20 7 per cent.,
while Mile End contained 13.6 per cent., and Whitechapel 22.9 per cent.
Having regard to the fact that the habits of persons of these three classes differ from those of
the other classes, there can be no doubt that the small percentage of the population of Mile End
belonging to the former has considerable influence upon the amount of supervision required to maintain
a satisfactory standard in this district as compared with other parts of the East End.
Ten per cent. of the population of Mile End live in tenements of one room. Of the population
living in 1—4 rooms at the last census, the percentage with more than two occupants per room was
22.00—just less than half the corresponding percentage in Whitechapel.
The enumerated populations * at successive censuses, with the rates of increase per cent., are as follows—
| Census year. | Population. | Increase per cent. |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 9,848 | _ |
| 1811 | 14,465 | 47 |
| 1821 | 22,876 | 58 |
| 1831 | 33,898 | 48 |
| 1841 | 45,308 | 34 |
| 1851 | 56,602 | 25 |
| 1861 | 73,064 | 29 |
| 1871 | 93,152 | 27 |
| 1881 | 105,613 | 13 |
| 1891 | 107,592 | 2 |
The age and sex distribution of the population at the census of 1891 was as follows—
| 1891. | All ages. | 0- | 5- | 10- | 15- | 20- | 25- | 3d— | 45- | 5&- | 65- | 75 and upwards. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile End Old Town— Males: Per cent, of total population | 48.64 | 664 | 5'75 | 5.41 | 4.86 | 4.67 | 7.91 | 5.51 | 400 | 2.31 | 1.20 | .38 |
| Females: Per cent, of total population | 51*36 | 6'73 | 5.88 | 5.33 | 4.95 | 5.05 | 7.98 | 5.78 | 4.34 | 2.80 | 1.73 | .70 |
| London— Males: Per cent, of total population | 47.27 | 5.92 | 5.36 | 4.90 | 4.69 | 4.61 | 7.92 | 5.85 | 411 | 2.35 | 1.20 | .37 |
| Females: Per cent, of total population | 52.73 | 5.99 | 5.42 | 4.99 | 5.21 | 5.56 | 911 | 6.49 | 4.64 | 2.92 | 1.72 | .69 |
*The later figures relate to the registration district of Mile End Old Town, which was formed out of the
Stepney district on the 1st October, 1857. The earlier figures relate to the corresponding area forming a subdivision
of the Stepney district.