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4
An examination of the figures in this table shows the number of persons per acre in the several
sub-districts to be 209, 146, 112, 210, 103, 80, 51 and 25; while the number of houses per acre in
the sub-districts is as follows: 23, 19, 13, 26, 15, 13, 9, 4. There is thus an almost uninterrupted
decrease in the extent of crowding in proceeding from sub-district one which lies at the northern
extremity of the parish to sub-district eight which adjoins the county boundary.
In Lambeth as in adjoining parts of South London, poverty and crowding of persons upon area
tend to be associated with distance from that part of the north side of the river to which so many
South Londoners travel daily to their work. With the exception of the potteries there is a remarkable
absence of local industries in Lambeth, and the distance from the place of work, which is often on the
other side of the Thames, exercises a marked influence upon the distribution of population and upon
the social conditions obtaining in different parts of the parish. As a general rule the well-to-do travel
furthest, the houses of the middle class are found in an intermediate situation, and the poorest people
live in the near neighbourhood of the river.
The eight sub-districts of Lambeth may with advantage be studied in two groups, and the most
obvious line of cleavage appears to be that between the four inner and the four outer sub-districts.
This division has been made use of from time to time by Dr. Verdon in his annual reports, and will be
found to present some instructive contrasts.
The four inner sub-districts (Nos. 1-4, see preceding table) had at the 1891 census a
population of 85,847 and an area of 515 acres, i.e., a density of population of 167 persons to the acre.
The four outer sub-districts (Nos. 5-8) had at the 1891 census a population of 189,356 and
an area of 3,426 acres, i.e., a density of population of 55 persons to the acre.
A valuable indication as to the extent to which crowding of persons prevails in a given area is
afforded by the census figures relating to tenements of less than five rooms. These figures are given
for sanitary districts in London in the census return, and show that 52.2 per cent. of the inhabitants of
Lambeth live in tenements consisting of one, two, three or four rooms, and 15.87 per cent. of the total
population live in such tenements under conditions of " overcrowding."* These percentages are
somewhat smaller than the corresponding figures for London as a whole, which are 55.5 per cent. and
19.7 per cent. respectively.

It appears, therefore, that while in Lambeth as a whole the percentage of the population living
in tenements of one to four rooms under conditions of "overcrowding" is 15.87 per cent. the corresponding
percentage in the four inner sub-districts of Lambeth is just about twice as great, viz., 3175 per
cent. Lambeth stood 13th on the list of 41 sanitary districts into which London was divided at the
time of the census, in respect of "overcrowding" i.e., 12 districts were less crowded; had, however, the
four inner districts of Lambeth been substituted for the entire parish in the comparison with London
sanitary districts, the place taken would have been a very different one. In fact the high percentage of
"overcrowding" in the four inner sub-districts of Lambeth was only exceeded in 1891 throughout the
rest of London in nine sanitary districts, those of St. Luke, Whitechapel, St. George-in-the-East,
Clerkenwell. Holborn, Bethnal-green, Shoreditch, St. George-the-Martvr and St. Saviour.

* The Registrar-General applies the term overcrowding to cases where there are more than two occupants
per room in tenements of less than five rooms.