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 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Proceedings in respect of houses represented as unfit for human habitation.
The following tabular statement shows the procedure of district authorities as to houses represented as unfit for human habitation and concerning which the Council has received copies of representations from the 1st January to the 31st December, 1898—
| Local Authority. | Total number of houses concerning which the Council has received information that representations have been made from the 1/1/18 to the 31/12/98. | Number of houses closed, demolished or improved by owners without Magisterial intervention. | Number of houses for which closing orders were granted. | Number of houses for which closing orders were refused. | Number of houses outstanding or concerning which proceedings are in progress. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed. | Demolished. | Improved. | Total. | Subsequently demolished. | Subsequently! improved. | No further action. | Total. | ||||
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 13 | — | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | 13 | — | — | |
| 14 | — | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | -— | — | |
| 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | |
| 20 | 13 | — | 5 | 18 | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 12 | — | |
| 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | |
| 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 6 | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | 1 | 6 | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 24 | |
| 184 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 18 | — | 12 | 30 | 23 | 98 | |
from the above tabular statement it will be seen that during the past year only 14 of the
local authorities have taken any action under Part II. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act,
1890. It does not necessarily follow that in the other districts proceedings have not been instituted
for closing houses, the explanation being that many of the local authorities have found it more
convenient to proceed under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. In six cases—those of
Hammersmith, Plumstead, St. George, Hanover-square, St. James, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and
St. Saviour's, Southwark—no action has been taken under Part II. of the Housing of the Working
Classes Act since this Act came into force.
The following references to the subject of the housing of the working classes appear in the
reports of medical officers of health—
Westminster—A considerable number of houses have been voluntarily demolished in the
district during the year. In wards 1 and 3, St. John, 58 have thus been demolished or closed,
displacing a population of 401 persons.
St. James, Westminster—Attention is again directed to the area lying to the north-east of
Regent-street. The tortuous streets contain worn out and short leased old buildings used as
tenement-houses, to which foreigners resort, whose ideas as to sanitation are described as utterly
rudimentary. The medical officer of health suggests that a new street " carried through from the
north end of the Haymarket to Poland-street would enormously increase the value of land in this
district, and would profitably break-up and transform this nest of old houses and tortuous streets."
He states, moreover, that the old tenement-houses are giving place to warehouses and workshops,
" but these rebuildings, while a distinct improvement, are mostly cast in the old mould of these
narrow and tortuous streets, and in point of fact, they every year make more difficult that radical
replanning of the district which is called for. Moreover the extrusion of the working classes which