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 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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92
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1912.
The following table compares the numbers of persons included as "homeless," found to be
taking shelter on staircases and under arches on the particular nights on which enumeration was made
in the several years. Details are also given as to the weather conditions obtaining on each of six
occasions:—
| Year. | Weather conditions. | Males. | Females. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 | Cold at first followed by rain | 100 | 68 | 168 |
| 1907 | Fine and not very cold | - | - | 50 |
| 1909 | Heavy rain followed by strong, cold wind | 49 | 39 | 88 |
| 1910 | Fine and not very cold | 10 | 20 | 30 |
| 1911 | Fine and not very cold | 12 | 53 | 65 |
| 1912 | Rain early, afterwards fine and not cold | 25 | 23 | 48 |
In previous reports it has been pointed out that in any comparison of figures relating to homeless
persons some attention must be paid to the extent of occupation of common lodging-houses and
casual wards, as there is a continual interchange among the inmates of these two classes of institutions
and the homeless class. I therefore submit tables showing the use made of common lodging-house
and casual ward accommodation on certain specified dates. For the figures relating to the casual wards
I am indebted to Sir James Davy, K.C.B., of the Local Government Board.
| Date. | Authorised accommodation. | Number of persons occupying beds. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men. | Women. | Couples. | Total. | Men. | Women. | Couples. | Total. | |
| 29th January, 1904 | 25,718 | 2,281 | 447 | 28,893 | 21,058 | 1,517 | 390 87 Children | 23,442 |
| 17th February, 1905 | 25,671 | 2,450 | 422 | 28,965 | 21,055 | 1,578 | 357 34 Children | 23,381 |
| 8th February, 1907 | 25,599 | 2,436½ | 245 | 28,525 | 20,438 | 1,598 | 207 | 22,450 |
| 15th January, 1909 | 25,976 | 2,365 | 245 | 28,831 | 20,059 | 1,483 | 161 | 21,864 |
| 18th February, 1910 | 25,902 | 2,344 | 245 | 28,736 | 19,346 | 1,456 | 177 | 21,156 |
| 17th February, 1911 | 25,376 | 2,376 | 245 | 28,242 | 19,470 | 1,356 | 189 | 21,204 |
| 9th February, 1912 | 25,352 | 2,455 | 245 | 28,297 | 19,710 | 1,373 | 196 24 Children | 21,499 |
| Date. | Accommodation. Beds. | How used. Persons. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men. | Women. | Women and children. | Total. | Men. | Women. | Children. | Total. | |
| 29th January, 1904 | 1,243 | 410 | 114 | 1,767 | 1,034 | 175 | 9 | 1,218 |
| 17th February, 1905 | 1,263 | 420 | 120 | 1,803 | 926 | 210 | 3 | 1,139 |
| 8th February, 1907 | — | — | — | 1,882 | — | — | — | 1,137 |
| 15th January, 1909 | 1,241 | 444 | 122 | 1,807 | 1,001 | 184 | 3 | 1,188 |
| 18th February, 1910 | 1,219 | 454 | 119 | 1,792 | 928 | 173 | 6 | 1,107 |
| 17th February, 1911 | 1,220 | 452 | 123 | 1,795 | 962 | 129 | — | 1,091 |
| 9th February, 1912 | 1,233 | 456 | 125 | 1,814 | 900 | 132 | 1 | 1,033 |
The next table shows the common lodging-house and casual ward accommodation, the extent of its use, and the number of homeless persons in each year.
| Date. | Accommodation (beds). | Persons. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.L.H. | Cas. wards. | Total. | C.L.H. (Inmates.) | Cas. wards. (Inmates.) | Homeless. | Total.1 | |
| 29th January, 1904 | 28,893 | 1,767 | 30,660 | 23,442 | 1,218 | 1,797 | 26,457 |
| 17th February, 1905 | 28,965 | 1,803 | 30,768 | 23,381 | 1,139 | 2,181 | 26,701 |
| 8th February, 1907 | 28,525 | 1,882 | 30,407 | 22,450 | 1,137 | 2,404 | 25,991 |
| 15th January, 1909 | 28,831 | 1,807 | 30,638 | 21,864 | 1,188 | 2,388 | 25,440 |
| 18th February, 1910 | 28,736 | 1,792 | 30,528 | 21,156 | 1,107 | 2,747 | 25,010 |
| 17th February, 1911 | 28,242 | 1,795 | 30,037 | 21,204 | 1,091 | 1,785 | 24,080 |
| 9th February, 1912 | 28,297 | 1,814 | 30,111 | 21,499 | 1,033 | 1,203 | 23,735 |
*These figures do not include the persons in the unlicensed homes and institutions referred to in Table No. IV.
who might also be regarded as belonging to the common lodging house class.