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 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Sanitary area. | Tenements with | Percentage of total population in each group of tenements. | Overcrowding. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of total population living more than 2 in a room in tenements of less than 5 rooms. | |||||||
| 1891. | 1901. | Increase or decrease. | 1891. | 1901. | Increase or decrease. | ||
| Wandsworth | 1 room | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.81 | 0.42 | — 0.39 |
| 2 rooms | 5.2 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 1.62 | 0.87 | — 0.75 | |
| 3 „ | 9.5 | 11.6 | + 2.1 | 1.76 | 1.73 | — 0.03 | |
| 4 „ | 13.9 | 15.4 | + 1.5 | 1.38 | 1.41 | + 0.03 | |
| Total | 30.7 | 32.5 | + 1.8 | 5.57 | 4.43 | 1.14 | |
| Whitechapel | 1 room | 18.2 | 14.3 | — 3.9 | 13.45 | 10.64 | — 2.80 |
| 2 rooms.. | 26.5 | 28.5 | + 2.0 | 18.26 | 20.51 | + 2.25 | |
| 3 „ | 16.6 | 19.6 | + 3.0 | 8.51 | 10.98 | + 2.47 | |
| 4 „ | 9.6 | 9.8 | + 0.2 | 3.28 | 3.76 | + 0.48 | |
| Total | 70.9 | 72.2 | + 1.3 | 43.50 | 45.89 | + 2.39 | |
| Woolwich | 1 room. | 7.2 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 3.72 | 1.80 | — 1.92 |
| 2 rooms | 11.9 | 10.7 | — 1.2 | 4.83 | 3.48 | — 1.35 | |
| 3 „ | 13.7 | 14.0 | + 0 .3 | 3.35 | 3.07 | — 0.28 | |
| 4 „ | 17.8 | 16.9 | — 0.9 | 2.55 | 2.11 | — 0.44 | |
| Total | 50.6 | 46.2 | — 4.4 | 14.45 | 10.46 | — 3.99 | |
| London, A dministra. tive County of | 1 room | 9.2 | 6.7 | — 2.5 | 5.10 | 3.25 | — 1.85 |
| 2 rooms | 16.4 | 15.3 | — 1.1 | 7.84 | 6.52 | — 1.32 | |
| 3 „ | 15.8 | 16.5 | + 0.7 | 4.57 | 4.13 | — 0.44 | |
| 4 „ | 14.1 | 15.2 | + 1.1 | 2.19 | 2.07 | — 0.12 | |
| Total | 55.5 | 53.7 | — 1.8 | 19.70 | 15.97 | — 3.73 | |
It will be seen from the table that the percentage of the population inhabiting tenements
of one room has declined in each sanitary area. In London, as a whole, the proportion has fallen
in the ten years from 9.2 to 6.7 per cent. The proportion of the population occupying tenements
of two rooms has declined in 23 districts and increased in 15 districts; the decline
is most marked in the districts of St.. Martin.in.the.Fields (from 18 1 to 11.7 per cent.), the
Strand (from 24.2 to 18.5 per cent.), and St. James's, Westminster (from 23.8 to 20.2 per cent.),
while of the districts showing an increased percentage, St. George.in.the.East is most notable, the
proportion of the population occupying tenements of two rooms having risen from 21.2 to 24.6
per cent. In London as a whole, however, the proportion of the population in tenements of two
rooms declined from 16.4 to 15.3 per cent. The proportion of the population in tenements
of three and four rooms shows a slight increase in the majority of districts, and the figures for
London as a whole show that the proportion of the population in these tenements has risen from
15.8 to 16.5 per cent, in the case of tenements of three rooms, and from 14.1 to 15.2 per cent, in
the case of tenements of four rooms.
The term "overcrowding" used in the table is applied to those tenements of less than
five rooms which, at the respective census years, were occupied to the extent of more than two
persons per room. Using the term in this sense, it will be seen that in London as a whole the
proportion of the population occupying "overcrowded" tenements declined from 19.70 per cent,
to 15.97 per cent, in the ten years. This decline is shared by the populations occupying each
class of tenement, but the decline is most marked in the case of occupants of tenements of one
and two rooms. Referring to the several sanitary areas, it will be seen that the proportion of
the total population occupying overcrowded tenements of one room declined in each sanitary
area; the proportion of the population occupying overcrowded tenements of two rooms declined
in each sanitary area with the exception of Limehouse, Mile.end Old Town, St. George.in.the.
East, St. Margaret and St. John, Westminster, St. Saviour, and Whitechapel. In the case of
tenements of three rooms there are nine exceptions to the general decline, and in the case of the
tenements of four rooms 15 exceptions.
Thus a marked improvement has taken place in the manner in which persons occupying
tenements of less than five rooms are housed in London. The shifting of the population in the
last ten years from the tenements of one and two rooms to the more ample accommodation provided
in tenements of three and four rooms is conspicuous. Moreover, only in the sanitary areas of
Whitechapel, St. George.in.the.East, and Mile.end Old Town, which have been specially affected
by "alien" immigration has there been increase in the proportion of the total population occupying
overcrowded tenements of less than five rooms, and even in these areas the proportion of the
population occupying overcrowded tenements of one room has declined.