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It is unnecessary to recapitulate the statements which will be found in Dr. Hamer's report,
but it may be stated that the results of his enquiry are to show that whereas in former years the
vestry of Kensington compared favourably with other London sanitary authorities in the exercise
of the powers which they then possessed, they have not at the present time the staff necessary for
the proper exercise of the additional powers which Parliament lias in recent years conferred upon
London sanitary authorities. For example, in the Notting Dale district, to which reference has
been made, although tenement houses are registered, it has been found impossible to subject them
to the frequent inspection which they need. Dr. Hamer contrasts the conditions found in common
lodging-houses with those found in tenement houses practically side by side with them in
that district, a contrast which is now even more marked than in 1896, when the special committee
of the Yestry reported that "It is but right to say that the condition of those houses which arc
already registered as common lodging-houses is superior to those which are not, or cannot be so
registered." Seeing that common lodging-houses are subjected to weekly inspections by the
Council's inspectors, while as regards the other houses it is found "impossible to make a single
thorough inspection of each of these tenements in the course of a year," the difference is not
matter for surprise.
I may say that after study of Dr. Hamer's report I believe his estimate of the staff of
inspectors which is now required for proper administration in Kensington is a fair one.
With regard to the Vestry's employment of a contractor for the purpose of disinfection of
infected articles, and the omission to provide a shelter, I may remind the committee that the
Council, ill 1893, expressed the opinion that "the system of arranging with a contractor for the
disinfection of infected articles is not an entirely satisfactory one," and "that sanitary authorities
who have not yet done so should be urged to provide, free of charge, in accordance with section 60
of the Public Health Act, temporary shelter, or house accommodation, with any necessary attendants,
for the members of any family who may have been compelled to leave their dwellings for
the purpose of enabling such dwellings to be disinfected by the sanitary authority."
Shirley F. Murphy,
Medical Officer of Health.
Report by Dr. Hamer.
The parish of Kensington is bounded on the north, in part of its extent, by the Harrow-road,
which separates it from the Willesden district outside the county of London, and in the other part by
a detached portion of the parish of Chelsea. On the west it adjoins Hammersmith and Fulham. On
the south lies Chelsea, the Fulham-road for a considerable distance constituting the dividing line
between the two parishes; the Kensington boundary extends, however, beyond the eastern termination
of this road, as far as the northern end of Sloane-street, and includes six houses in that street.
On the east of Kensington are Paddington and a detached portion of St. Margaret's, "Westminster.
It has been observed* that, "parochially considered, Kensington is not only more than Kensington
in some places, but it is not Kensington itself in others. In Kensington parish, for instance, are
included Earl's-court, Little Chelsea, Old and New Brompton, Kensal-green, and even some of the
houses in Sloane-street; while, on the other hand, Kensington Palace and Kensington-gardens are
not in Kensington, but in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster." It should be added that a small
detached portion of Kensington parish is situated on the north bank of the river Thames in the neighbourhood
of the Chelsea-embankment; this portion is separated from the rest of Kensington by part of
the area included in Chelsea parish. The Boundary Commissioners, appointed under the London
Government Act of 1899, will presumably simplify the existing arrangement of boundaries, by
transference of some of the above-named detached portions of parishes to the areas to which, from a
topographical point of view, they may be said to properly belong.
Kensington parish is coterminous with the sanitary area and the registration district of the
same name. Its superficial extent is 2,188 acres and is exceeded by that of 13 of the other existing
London sanitary districts. It will probably occupy a somewhat similar position in the more limited
list of new boroughs. In respect of population Kensington stands eighth on the list of existing
sanitary districts. As regards rateable value it is at present second only to the City of London, but
on the list of new boroughs it will presumably take the third place.
The parish is about of miles long from north to south and varies in width from about ½ mile
at the northern to 17/8 miles at the southern end. The greatest elevation, some 140 feet above Ordnance
datum, is attained near its north-western extremity, while in the neighbourhood of the north-eastern
extremitv the readings on the Ordnance sheet are some 80 or 90 feet above that datum. The general
slope downwards to the south is interrupted by the high ground of Notting-hill, and in Notting-hill Highstreet
the readings given are 93 and 90 feet above datum. On the top of the adjoining Campdenhill,
upon which stands the tower of the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, an object conspicuous
for many miles around, the height above datum is 128 feet. The southern portions of
Kensington are low lying, those to the 60uth-east being, however, a little more elevated than those to
the south-west. The lowest point is at South-street, Fulham-road, 16 feet above datum. Generally
speaking (save in the extreme north) the ground to the west lies lower than that to the east, in
correspondence with the fact that a brook formerly constituted the western boundary of the parish,
and on the western borders of Kensington, even for some distance north of the Uxbridge-road, the
land is at low elevation.
In the northern part of the parish the London clay lies superficially, and this holds good as far
*Leigh Hunt—The Old Court Suburb.