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 1901
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Administrative Country of London.
REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
1 9 O 1.
PART I.
Population.
The population of the administrative county of London, estimated to the middle of the
year 1901. was 4,544,983.
The population of each of the metropolitan boroughs, as constituted by the London Government Act of 1899, estimated to the middle of 1901 is shown in the following table—
| Metropolitan Boroughs. | Estimated population, 1901. | Metropolitan Boroughs. | Estimated population, 1901. | Metropolitan Boroughs. | Estimated population, 1901. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 144,200 | Stoke Newington | 51,336 | Bermondsey | 130,650 |
| Kensington | 176,821 | Hackney | 219,800 | Lambeth | 302,533 |
| Hammersmith | 112,631 | Holborn | 59,231 | Battersea | 169,403 |
| Fulham | 138,448 | Finsbury | 101,266 | Wandsworth | 233,985 |
| Chelsea | 73,876 | City of London | 26,657 | Camberwell | 260,022 |
| City of Westminster | 182,567 | Shoreditch | 118,504 | Deptford | 110,632 |
| St. Marylebone | 133,053 | Bethnal-green | 129,720 | Greenwich | 96,217 |
| Hampstead | 82,300 | Stepney | 298,985 | Lewisham | 128,480 |
| St. Pancras | 235,369 | Poplar | 168,898 | Woolwich | 117,652 |
| Islington | 335,441 | Southwark | 206,306 |
Density of population.
Tbe enumerated population and the number of persons per acre in the several metropolitan
boroughs at the date of the 1901 census are shown in the following table. It will be seen that
the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark had the largest number of persons per acre, viz., 182. The
greatest density of population hitherto attained by any sanitary district in London since 1811 waa
241 persons per acre (St. Luke, 1861). There is no doubt that if the density of population were
shown for smaller areas than those of the metropolitan boroughs it would be found that some
of these areas would have a much larger number of persons per acre than the maximum number
shown in the table, viz., 182; but the general tendency of the recent London Government Act
has been to increase the area of the London sanitary districts, and differences of density, when
the metropolitan boroughs are compared, are probably not so great as the differences which
would obtain were the former sanitary districts made the subject of comparison. In this connection
it may, be pointed out that although the average density of the population of Southwark
was 182 persons per acre the density of population in the Borough-road registration sub-district,
one of the areas comprised in the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark, was 266 persons per acre.
| Metropolitan boroughs. | Area in Btatute acres. | Enumerated population, 1901. | Number of persons to an acre. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 1,356 | 143,976 | 106 |
| Kensington | 2,291 | 176,628 | 77 |
| Hammersmith | 2,286 | 112,239 | 49 |
| Fulham | 1,703 | 137,289 | 81 |
| Chelsea | 660 | 73,842 | 112 |
| Westminster, City of | 2,503 | 183,011 | 73 |
| St. Marylebone | 1,473 | 133,301 | 90 |
| Hampstead | 2,265 | 81,942 | 36 |
| St. Pancras | 2,694 | 235,317 | 87 |
| Islington | 3,091 | 334,991 | 108 |
| Stoke Newington | 863 | 51,247 | 59 |
| Hackney | 3,289 | 219,272 | 67 |
| Holborn | 405 | 59,405 | 147 |
| 1092 |