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London County Council.
MORTUARY ACCOMMODATION.
Public Health Department,
8, St. Martin's-place, W.C.,
January 19th, 1899.
Report by the medical officer, submitting a report by Dr. Young on the mortuary
accommodation provided by London sanitary authorities.
(Printed by order of the Public Health Committee, 19th January, 1899.)
1 have from time to time in my annual reports given some account of the mortuaries which
have been provided in the several sanitary districts of London, and of the extent of their use. In
Dr. Young's report, which I now present, will be found further details of the provision which has
been made in each district. Generally speaking, since 1891, when the Public Health (London) Act
was passed, much progress has been made by sanitary authorities in providing suitable accommodation.
In a few districts the accommodation is inadequate, but in the majority of these this insufficiency is
recognised by the sanitary authorities, and the construction of better mortuaries is contemplated. As
regards the districts of Holborn and Plumstead, the mortuaries which have been provided by the
sanitary authorities are unsatisfactory. In Plumstead it is proposed to erect a new mortuary. In
St. Saviour the accommodation is especially unsatisfactory, and the Council has taken such steps as it
can to bring to an end the delay in providing a proper mortuary for the district.
Shirley F. Murphy,
Medical Officer of Health.
Dr. Young's Report.
General statement as to the accommodation provided.
The mortuary accommodation which has been provided by sanitary authorities in London may
be regarded as satisfactory in twenty-two and as fairly satisfactory in four instances.
In the case of five other districts the mortuaries provided do not contain separate chambers for
the bodies of persons dying from infectious complaints. The districts to which this refers are Chelsea,
Stoke Newington, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Shorediteh and St. Olave.
In the following eight districts, namely—
Paddington Woolwich
Poplar Holbom
Battersea St. Saviour
Lewisham Plumstead
the existing accommodation is unsatisfactory or inadequate, but in the case of all of these except Holborn
the erection of new mortuaries is about to take place or is under the consideration of the local authority.
In the case of St. Saviour's, however, there appears to be no prospect of a satisfactory settlement.
In the case of two districts, namely—
Greenwich Lee
no mortuary has been provided by the sanitary authority as yet, but the matter is under consideration.
In these districts use is made either of parish mortuaries or of mortuaries provided in cemeteries by
burial boards, but not one of these by itself is satisfactory in all respects.
The remaining two districts not accounted for in the above are—
Lambeth.
Wandsworth.
In Lambeth there are two mortuaries provided by the authority. One of these has no separate
chamber for bodies of persons who have died from infectious disease; the other is a recent building,
and, though small, is satisfactory.
In Wandsworth there are five mortuary buildings; three of these are satisfactory, but two are
not well suited for their purpose.
In the following description of the mortuary premises in each district the provision or not of the
following accommodation has been borne in mind, viz.—
(1) Ordinary mortuary chamber.
(2) Mortuary chamber for bodies of persons dead of infectious disease.
(3) Post-mortem room.
(4) Microscope room.
(5) Viewing window.
(6) Store-room for coffin shells.
(7) Waiting-room.
Where no mention is made of one or other of these no special provision in this respect has been
made. As regards waiting-room accommodation, where the mortuary is provided in conjunction with
the coroner's court, the waiting-rooms in the latter would be available for the use of mourners.
Details as to each district.
Paddington.—A new mortuary is to be provided in conjunction with a coroner's court.
The existing mortuary is an unsatisfactory building containing two rooms, badly ventilated and
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